You Need Me To Be With You
by ForASecondThereWe'dWon
Summary: Let's pick up where Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life left off. It's the morning of Luke & Lorelei's wedding and there's still one couple yet to get together. Rory is NOT pregnant in my story. Rated M for exactly what you wanted to happen between Rory and Jess.
1. How's it End?

**April 5th: Important question/request for feedback!**

Friends, readers, countrymen, lend me your ears! I know, I know. Even in an update I make a goddamn Shakespearean reference. It's just how I am. Anyway, I've been truly overwhelmed by the kind words from you via both public review and private message on this, my first ever fanfiction. I'm wrapping up my second Jess & Rory fic (first chapter's up, if you're interested), unrelated to this one, but I wanted to ask for your opinion going forward. **Do you want a sequel to this story ( _You Need Me To Be With You_ )?** Your input is valuable to me, so I would love for you to take a minute and let me know your thoughts.

Word to your mother.

XO ForASecondThereWe'dWon

I

 _How's it end?_

Rory was sitting under a big tree, a soft, yellowed paperback flopping open on her lap. Sunshine was all around her and she felt thoroughly warm and content.

 _How's it end?_

She smiled at the question, but didn't look up. She was reading _Moby Dick_ , her first Melville. The sentences were assembling a Massachusetts port before her eyes.

 _How's it end?_

The page she was on started to lift gently, though she didn't feel a breeze. She smoothed it flat with her thumb. No accidental spoilers for Rory Gilmore. She knew she'd be too tempted to look if the novel was flipped to a more advanced passage.

 _How's it end?_

This chapter? If she really had to guess she'd assume with some form of hearty seafood dinner, since Ishmael had just spotted the inn. She imaged the taste, the smell. Salt. The salt of the meal and of the sea. Her pages rustled again.

 _How's it end?_

The paper was warm as she pressed it down. She was getting pretty warm herself. Her face felt hot. The sun must have been reflected up off the pages as she read. It wouldn't be the first time she gave herself a sunburnt face this way. She focused on the story. It was pouring down rain on Ishmael.

 _How's it end?_

A drop fell onto the page between where her thumbs propped the paperback open. She could picture the icy wind chilling an already rain-drenched Ishmael to the bone.

 _How's it end?_

Another drop. The words began to blur before Rory's eyes. Ridiculous, how tiny they made the type in some of these old edition novels. She favoured the clarity and drama of the all-capped headline herself. A classic journalistic preference.

 _How's it end?_

She reached up to shade her eyes from the sun and the side of her hand brushed wetness.

 _How's it end?_

His voice wasn't pushy exactly, but he was letting her know it was time. This was really very inconvenient since she was pretty comfortably ensconced in her denial. She strained to make out whatever clever combo featuring verbs, nouns, and adjectives Mr. Melville had arranged for the next sentence, but everything smudged together again.

 _How's it end?_

 _I don't know yet!_ she thought, as the tears pushed each other out onto her cheeks, like water breaking apart at a ship's bow. Her face was very hot now as her emotions took the helm. _Great, now you're making me think in metaphors, you little…_

Her head snapped up from her novel as the pages began to flutter uncontrollably. She took in the green all around her, stretching infinitely like the sea. She smelled salt.

 _How's it end?_

She breathed deeply, closing her eyes. She loosened the muscles that had tightened in her distress.

 _The book, Gilmore. How's it end?_

 _Jess_ , she plead, _I'm not there yet! I'm just. . ._

 _Stalling? You've read this chapter before, Gilmore. Isn't it time for Ishmael to heave-ho? Jump into the ship? Get 'er three sheets to the wind?_

 _You know that's not how those sayings go._

 _Oh, and you're such an expert on all things nautical?_

 _As a matter of fact, my grandmother has just started working at—_

 _How's it end?_

 _Why are you asking? Can't you see how far from the end I am?_ She broke her attempt at calm, her eyes opening as she shook the novel resting in her lap at him. She looked down, seeking the page number so she could give him a solid piece of information to reinforce the fact that she was still far from the novel's conclusion. But there wasn't a page number. There weren't paragraphs. No sentences. Not a word on the page. She flipped back, stroking her thumb over the pages she'd gotten through so far. Blank.

 _How's it end?_

 _That's really hilarious, Jess. I thought you were supposed to add notes to my books, not switch them out for phony blank copies._

 _Copies? Well I'm sure there'll be lots, but for now it's one of a kind. Completely original._

 _Not exactly words I'D use to describe a classic into its 100_ _th_ _printed edition…_

 _If that's true, you work faster than I thought, Gilmore._

 _What's that supposed to mean? I—_ she flipped to the front cover, searching for a clue. _Gilmore Girls_.

 _How's it end?_

 _This is my book._

 _Sure looks that way. Won't be much of a story if you don't quit stalling though, like I said._

She smoothed her hands over front page. No cover, just her 8.5"x14" manuscript. Warm from the sun.

 _Are you ready? How's it end?_

 _How's it…_

 _How's…_

 _H…_

 _Hairdryer…_

Hairdryer?

"HAIRDRYER!"

Rory dragged her face across her pillow, willing her eyes to open by the time she reached the edge. "Ooph!" Her face smacked mattress instead as her crazy mother yanked the pillow out from under her. She made a feeble grab for it, but Lorelei was too fast, and too frantic, flinging it across the room.

"Ugh, man, not there either."

"What's not where?" Lifting her heavy noggin from horizontal position, Rory peered across at her mother.

"The hairdryer, kid. Try and keep up."

"Why would your hairdryer be under my pillow?"

"Not MY hairdryer. I hate that thing. It turned against me years ago. Paul Anka's the only one I use it on now. I want youuuur hairdryer. You know, the pink one with the nozzle and the"—she started gesturing wildly with her hands, one of which had its nails painted a deep scarlet—"thing? You know, the"—the gestures slightly resolved themselves in a mime of her mother holding a… grapefruit? With a porcupine on it?

"Diffuser," Rory provided, through a yawn.

"Yes! That's the thing! Now that you know what you're looking for, I'm just gonna hop back into the kitchen, find the biggest mug we own, and fill it right to the brim with coffee!"

"Manicure!" Sookie was shouting from the kitchen.

"Oh, right." Lorelei held out her mismatched hands for inspection. "But I can still hold the mug with the hand that's done!"

"If you smudge those nails!" Sookie shrieked from the kitchen, then let her threat fade off into a mumble. Rory could tell, even without seeing the face of her mother's best friend, that Sookie was trying to keep her own frantic nature under control today to better cope with Lorelei's excited state.

"Ok, well mommy and Auntie Sookie are gonna be just out there." Her face was very tense now. The need for either a LOT more coffee or no coffee for the rest of the day was a question balanced on a knife's edge. Rory made exaggerated shooing motions, rising slowly from bed and starting to glance about her at the stacks of cardboard boxes.

"Try not to kill each other. I'll start digging." Rory nodded towards the boxes. "I'm sure the hairdryer's hiding in one of them."

"Attagirl!" Lorelei's face lit up. "Find it like it's the seventh horcrux!"

"Mom, there WERE seven horcruxes."

"Nuh uh."

"Yes."

"Then name them."

"LORELEI, I CAN HEAR YOU STALLING IN THERE!"

Stalling… Rory pictured the grass, the blank pages on her lap. She remembered his voice, playful, but firm. Her story. What happened next. She'd see him today. She sighed.

"Ha! You can't. That means I win by default. I know there are only six."

Rory rolled her eyes. "No, there's Harry—" "Awww," a pity noise from her mother. "The diadem. The cup," she thought for a minute. "The snake." "EEK!" "The diary. The locket. And…" "Aaaaand?" Her mother looked at her expectantly.

"The riiiiiiiiing!" Rory jumped at her, allowing Lorelei to grab her and start dancing her around the room, as much as the room could be danced around with its collapsible, compactible, cardboard obstacles.

"Am I getting married today?" Lorelei's eyes sparkled down at Rory.

"Yes, m'am!"

"Woohoo! Ok, manicure, and then coffee."

"And then hair, I swear, mom. I will fearlessly plunge my arm into each of these boxes like Willie Scott in the bug-filled hole in _Temple of Doom_!"

"We named the dog Indiana!" Lorelei laid the Connery accent on thick.

"No, you named the dog Paul Anka and I'm not about to go calling myself THAT. But I will find the hairdryer. Now go!" She gave her mother a gentle shove and watched as Lorelei marched herself out of her room to some loudly hummed John Williams.

Rory stood and shuffled forward, closing the door gently against the noises from the kitchen: "You know, what about like a bright fuchsia instead? I'm thinking like a Cheshire Cat kinda pink?" "LORELEI, I HAVE ONE HAND ALREADY DONE! It's scarlet or nothing, lady!"

She muffled her laughter and turned to the boxes. All unlabeled, naturally. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught the stack of CDs Lane had dropped off the day before. Funny, but Lane seemed to have a slightly different idea of the kind of songs that would send a "Dalai Lama-level chill" (Lorelei's request) vibe through the Gilmore house on the eve of Lorelei's big day. As Rory flipped through the cases, she judged the common theme to be more "screaming men" than Zen.

Absently, she found herself humming a mellower rock melody. Where had she heard XTC recently? Ah well, a question for another time. She eeny-meeny-miny-moed the boxes, singling out a large one on the bottom of a stack as most likely to contain assorted beauty tools.

* * *

Culture references in this chapter:

 _Moby Dick_ by Herman Melville

 _Harry Potter_ series by J.K. Rowling

 _Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom_ directed by Steven Spielberg

 _Alice's Adventures in Wonderland_ by Lewis Carroll

 _Then She Appeared_ by XTC (Rory's humming)


	2. Something Blue

II

An embarrassingly sweaty half hour later, Rory was extricating the pink hairdryer. She bounced it across her bed, watching it land where her pillow had been. Well, at least they'd find it there since the spot made sense to her mother, for some reason. Well… pillow, head, hairdryer. She could see the connection.

Rory turned and started maneuvering her way towards her closet, having a harder time of it now that the boxes were even more scattered. At least before they had been taking up space vertically, but that stack had since been dismantled. Thank god today was the first day in ages she'd be wearing something that she didn't first have to excavate from a box filled with staplers and shampoo.

She tugged open the closet door (a particularly heavy box leaning against it caused some resistance) and reached for the only thing hanging in a garment bag. It was too early to get dressed. Certainly, it would be a mistake to change before coffee. There was always the possibility that it could get slopped down the front of whatever she was wearing and THIS outfit was one she had not ordered caffeinated.

Rory gently edged the bag's zipper down, revealing a vibrant, gauzy, romantic shade of blue. Lorelei had described it in a handful of ways over the last little while. The blue for "something blue," though she had reminded her mother that this was only supposed to apply to the bride. The blue of the November sky she could see out her window. After Kirk's Lewis Carroll attack on the gazebo last night, _Alice_ blue. And finally, the unspoken true reason behind her mother's colour choice: the trademark blue of Gilmore eyes.

Her hands slide down the edges of the translucent garment bag as a memory sprang to mind, as sudden and insistent as a white rabbit. She was wearing another blue dress on the day of another wedding. He was there. He had come back. For her. She had kissed him briefly, but felt the weight of it for the rest of the day. The ghosting of his hands across her arms as he had attempted to draw her to him.

In the present, Rory blushed. That really felt like where it had all begun. That scene was idyllic. Preserved in her heart like the Beast's rose, under a delicate casing of glass. _How's it end?_ She had a startling thought. Maybe Jess—dream Jess—hadn't just meant her story, _Gilmore Girls_. Maybe he was talking about the two of them. They were about to spend most of the day and night together, integral parts of the Gilmore-Danes wedding. Maid of honour and best man.

Best man, indeed. Rory had enjoyed Jess's pep talk at her Stars Hollow Gazette office the other day, but if she was honest with herself, his comments had come in somewhat of a weak second next to the glimpse of his ass she'd had when he's gotten up to go. No sir, Jess Mariano's brain was no longer the main attraction for her.

Though, obviously, she shouldn't be objectifying him like that. He was talented, he was sharp, he was on her intellectual level. He was supportive and inspiring! She eyed her dress once more. He would be walking down the aisle next to her in a few hours with his arm under hers. He would likely dance with her at the reception. It would be rude not to. His hand would be on her back. Hers on his shoulders. His face so close. That dark hair. The smirk.

 _Woah, snap out of it, Gilmore!_ He was her friend. Her confidant. Heck, her relative-by-marriage after today! She grimaced. Yuck, erase that last thought. She would just focus on Lorelei. Lorelei was safe in a distracting, force of nature sort of way. She was the Kraken to Rory's floundering ship! Ugh, another nautical metaphor!

She leaned into her closet and jerked the zipper back up. She allowed herself one dreamy little sigh to exorcise some of the Jess thoughts making her head fuzzy. _I just need coffee_ , she thought. She turned, caught her toe on the edge of a box and almost went sprawling. _Or that. Now I'm awake!_ She grabbed the hairdryer off her bed and crossed into the kitchen, determined to keep her mother on schedule and herself 110% distracted from anything that wasn't dry shampoo, top coat, or those fiddly little hooks you have to do up to get the zipper of a dress to lay just right. She would make sure her mother would not be late for this very important date, over a decade in the making.

* * *

Culture references in this chapter:

 _Beauty and the Beast_ directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise


	3. The Beauty Olympics

III

"Rory, get down from there!" she heard her grandmother gasp. "Honestly, I leave the two of you alone for five minutes to take a phone call and you're in here practicing your audition for the Ringling Brothers!"

Rory's hand jerked back from the top of Lorelei's head where she had just secured a bobby pin. "Grandma, it's fine. I just couldn't see well enough standing on the ground."

Emily's eyes narrowed. "Fine, fine. Come on down now though, you're making me feel as giddy as she looks." She nodded her head towards Lorelei, who was grinning broadly.

"Okey dokey." Rory clamored down from the kitchen chair she had dragged up to her mother's bathroom for the hair portion of this morning's beauty Olympics. Man, she did NOT get the appeal of climbing Everest. Clearly those guys had never hauled a chair up a flight of chairs while their mother's shrieks as she tried to avoid burning her ears with the curling iron provided a jarring soundtrack. Now THAT experience was truly harrowing.

"How was the whaling museum guy? Do they think they'll be able to manage a whole weekend without you?" Rory copied her mother's grin, directing it at her grandmother as Emily rolled her eyes.

"Well I'm sure the tourists will be bored to tears with whatever watered down, kindergarten history lesson John decides to lull them to sleep with. How does he think whales were caught? My new motto is no harpoon, no guts, no history."

"Sounds like a regular afternoon with the DDR," Lorelei chimed in.

Emily smiled fondly at her daughter. "Well, I didn't exactly stab them to death and drag their organization's stinking carcass onto the shore of civilized society…" She trailed off, seeing the looks of faux horror on both her girls' faces. "Oh stop it, you two. Let's see what we've got here."

"You mean THE Emily Gilmore is going to do my hair?" Lorelei stretched the horror into a look of exaggerated shock.

"Well you know none of the hairdressers ever did it justice for events. You must remember me coming in and fixing things up. Doing a complete overhaul on occasion."

"Mom. Be serious. You didn't do my hair." Lorelei narrowed her eyes.

"Of course I did! My hands are probably still not completely clean from the layers of hairspray I've submerged them into over the years! Why those dim stylists felt the need to turn your head into a stiff, crunchy heap instead of just choosing their bobby pin placement a little more carefully I'll never know."

"Ah, yes, the bobby pins. I think I still have the scars from where you 'styled' them right into my scalp." Lorelei gave her mother a look of sarcastic recognition.

"Lorelei, don't be ridiculous. Now Rory, help me up." Emily gripped Rory's shoulder and before she could protest, her grandmother had hoisted herself onto the chair and was double checking Rory's handiwork. "My, you've done a wonderful job Rory! And it's not even the slightest bit crunchy! I see you didn't attend the Lorelei School of Hairdressing."

"I tried to get her in, mom, but she just wouldn't drop journalism," Lorelei winked at Rory. "Now everyone get away from my head! Or do you want a magnifying glass to really check things out?!"

Emily looked down at Lorelei and opened her mouth to reply, but Lorelei snapped "That was a joke!" so Emily followed Rory's example, climbing down and giving Lorelei some space to turn and examine herself in the mirror.

"Wow! Kid, on second thought, I think I could get you in to the Lorelei School of Hairdressing. We've just had a spot open up in the Special Events course." She was joking, but her eyes were getting damp. "Honestly, hun, I love it."

Lorelei's hair was swept back gently as Rory hadn't wanted to wage war on her mother's natural curls. It was gathered behind her head in a loose knot which allowed a few curls to hang free. It was clean and classy, but Rory was most proud of the 1940's swoop she'd achieved to frame her mother's face. It showed off her personality and reminded Rory of the nights they'd spent in the dance-a-thon—grueling at the time, but pleasant to look back on when you hadn't been shuffling from foot to foot for the past 20 hours.

Rory reached for her mom's hand and Lorelei squeezed it, looking back over her shoulder at her and smiling.

A flash went off. Emily had backed up to the doorway of the bathroom to get them both in shot and had snapped a picture with her new camera. When the spots stopped dancing before Rory's eyes, she swore she could see a little shine to her grandmother's eyes as well.

Lorelei was struggling to blink the spots out of her vision as well. "Man, I think you might've already been around tourists too long, mom."

"Make fun of me now, but later you'll be glad I took these." She looked down at her camera screen, zooming in on the picture she had just taken. _Charming! This would look great printed in black and white._ She'd have to scout out a good place to hang it when she was back in Nantucket. It was just the thing to bring new memories into her new home.

Rory was busy getting back on task. "Ok, makeup done." Lorelei mimed an exaggerated checkmark. "Hair, done." Her mother started doing Madonna vogue hands around her head for emphasis.

"Well I think it needs one more thing." Emily disappeared into Lorelei's bedroom.

"Mom! I thought you okayed the hair!"

Emily was back. She held out a small box to Lorelei. "Something old and something new, combined."

Lorelei looked at her mom, smiling through her confusing. She opened the box and tears immediately filled her eyes.

Emily explained the gift to Rory, who was peering over her mother's shoulder. "I took one of Richard's tie clips to a jeweler and had them make it into a hair pin. I thought, since he's not here to walk you down the aisle today—" her voice grew choked "—you might like to have a little something of him with you. Do you like it?"

"It's perfect." Lorelei's eyes welled up. "Good call on the waterproof everything, kid," she made an encompassing gesturing towards her face.

"Grandma, it really is perfect," Rory could see the 1940's curl and flourish to the former tie clip's design.

"Yes, well I do tend to think I have an eye for that sort of thing." Emily reach out for the box, looking to Lorelei for permission, then unsnapped the clip from its fastening and raised it to Lorelei's head, considering the options for its placement.

"Here, do you think?" Emily glanced at Rory, who nodded, and the clip was secured towards the back of Lorelei's head, catching the lower curl of the swoop.

Emily turned her daughter back to face the mirror. "Now it's perfect. Thanks, mom."

Eyes were starting to get watery again, so Rory got them back on track. "So hair, actually done. Nails done. Dress is waiting in the bedroom. Same with the shoes."

"Hey, Rory, how about getting some of your own stuff done? We're fine up here for a while." Her mom smile at her. Rory reached her hand to her hair and realized it was still wet. Ok, not too bad. Clean was a good place to start.

"Alright, but holler if you need anything!" Rory made her way to the stairs, glancing back to see her grandmother take her mom's hand. She dove for the bathroom counter, snatching the camera and getting a quick snap of Emily and Lorelei. _This would look great in black and white._

* * *

Culture references in this chapter:

 _Vogue_ by Madonna


	4. She's in Her Underwear!

IV

Rory turned to the side, trying to see herself in profile as well as she could. She'd gone for something simple but classic, gathering her hair in a bun at the nape of her neck. She didn't want her hairdo competing with the bride's—plus Lorelei's up-do seemed to have swallowed up most of Rory's bobby pins. Likely there were more floating around in the boxes reflected in Rory's bedroom mirror, but she did NOT have the time to dive back in there.

Her makeup she had applied with a light hand. Warm blush on her cheeks and light gold on her eyelids. Dark brown liner—nothing too dramatic. A complementary tone for her lipstick. She did want to show her eyes off most, and she knew golden shades were the way to do it. She figured it couldn't hurt, since dancing did often require prolonged eye contact. Unless your eyes were closed… and so were your partner's…

Her mind started to drift as she closed her eyes and pictured herself in Jess's arms. Could Jess waltz? She shook her head in amusement. Imagine. She hoped so, for more reasons than just the kick her mother and her would get out of that piece of information. Fingers crossed that good ballroom dancing technique could run in a family.

Rory stepped over to her closet, withdrawing the garment bag she'd left hanging there earlier. She unzipped it all the way this time, then pushed the bag off the hanger, letting it drift to the floor like an oversized leaf.

The dress glowed like a jewel. Maybe it would be her new lucky dress. She unbuttoned her blouse—too many times before had she made the mistake of doing her hair then having to yank a shirt off over her head—and tossed it onto her bed. She unknotted the drawstring on her sweats and kicked them off, leaving them in a pile on the floor. Ok, dress time.

Luckily, this dress didn't require too much wriggling around or sucking in of breath and stomach to get into. It came in naturally at her waist, then fell loosely to a few inches above her knees. The bodice fit closely, coming to a sweetheart neckline with delicate off the shoulder straps. Sleeves? Strappy sleeves? Those loose drapey arm bits à la Belle's yellow ball gown. Basically, it looked great without trying too hard, though Rory did try too hard to overanalyze it. _It's fine. Mom picked it. You know it looks great, you're just freaking out. Focus. Get upstairs and help mom._

She took a deep breath, collecting herself, then retrieved her heels and purse, dropping them outside the foyer on her way to the stairs. She raced up to her mom's bedroom to find Lorelei sitting on her bed in her underwear, a powdered donut halfway to her mouth. "Oh, hi hun!" The donut reached its target.

Rory looked over at Emily, sitting in a chair, but her grandmother just shrugged. "She told me it was either the donut or a taco and if I had seen salsa hovering over her today of all days…" She pursed her lips then relaxed. "At least the sugar falling off that thing is white."

Lorelei propelled herself up off her bed, clapping her hands together in her eagerness. A cloud of icing sugar puffed up. "Ah, maybe I'll just go wash my hands."

"Good idea," Emily deadpanned.

The front door banged shut. "I HAVE THE BOUQUETS! DON'T START WITHOUT ME!"

Rory ran to the banister. "We're up here, Sookie! Don't worry, she hasn't put the dress on yet."

"Ok, great! Thanks, hun." Rory grabbed Sookie by the hand once she had awkwardly shed her coat and dragged her up the stairs.

Lorelei was back in her bedroom, watching Emily unzip a much larger garment bag than Rory's. White material spilled out of the opening. Sookie bent to lift the bottom of the dress out of the bag while Emily removed the bag from the hanger at the top. Rory started going to town with the camera.

"Rory, make sure you're not getting your mother in the shot. She's in her underwear!"

"Rory, make sure you ARE totally getting your mother in the shot! She's still young and hot!" This from Lorelei herself. Rory laughed and made sure to get some of each type of shot.

Quickly, the ladies had the gown pooled on the floor for Lorelei to step into. She did so, balancing her hands on Rory's shoulders. Rory met her mother's hands with her own, gripping them to steady herself as much as Lorelei. They guided the gown up to her hips and let Lorelei take it from there. She adjusted the dress's waistline to meet her own then pulled the bodice into position. Sookie, with her careful baker's fingers, laced it up from the back.

It was a combination of 40's glam and loose, romantic ruffles. "I feel like Arwen meets Rosemary Clooney in _White Christmas_!" Lorelei was beaming. Rory thought she looked stunningly beautiful.

"Yeah, we're just missing the One Ring," Rory grinned back at her, then felt her eyes well up with tears.

"Don't start that! I can't hug you!" Lorelei gestured to her yards of white fabric.

"I'm ok, mom." Rory leaned in and kissed her mother on the cheek. She heard the camera's snap.

"Turn around now, Rory, let's get a nice group shot!"

"She's really going bonkers with this tourist thing," Lorelei whispered to Rory.

"I heard that. Now just a second while I figure out the timer." Emily hastily constructed a tripod from a Kleenex box and the half-full donut carton.

Sookie knelt again to fluff and arrange the bottom of Lorelei's dress. "God, it's magical. You look like the cake of my dreams!"

Lorelei burst out laughing. "Well come on up here, I don't want you looking like you're about to eat my dress in the picture." Sookie rose, straightening the front of her navy dress just as Emily called out "Got it! Ok, 15 seconds, ladies!"

Emily raced over, pulling Lorelei forward, pressing Rory to one side of her, and Sookie to the other.

"Aw, Emily, no way." Sookie smiled at her and gestured to Emily to take the space next to her daughter.

Emily smiled and pulled Sookie in to her other side. She felt Lorelei's fingers reach out for her own. She grasped her daughter's hand tightly and turned to look at the camera. The flash went off.

"That's gonna look great in black and white," Sookie sniffed.

* * *

Culture references in this chapter:

 _The Lord of the Rings_ series by J.R.R. Tolkien

 _White Christmas_ directed by Michael Curtiz


	5. You Know that Smirk Makes Me Nervous

V

"I just wish you'd tell me whose place this is!" Luke grumbled as his fingers slipped over the buttons of his dress shirt.

"Lemme do that." Jess stepped in, furrowing his brows in concentration only to find the buttons did up pretty easily. Luke's hands must be shaking. Jess grinned.

"Now what are you doing that for? You know that smirk makes me nervous."

"Sorry, Uncle Luke," Jess did up the last button and clapped his uncle on the shoulder. "Guess I'm just overcome with emotion. It's not every day you see…" He pretended to get choked up and covered his eyes with his hand.

"What?" Luke rolled his eyes at his nephew's dramatics. "Your favourite uncle get married?"

"Actually," Jess dropped his hand from his face." "I was gonna say 'Your favourite uncle without a baseball cap on his head.'"

"Hilarious." Luke made a swipe for Jess's head, but Jess dodged, backing away grinning.

"Careful, old man. I don't think you could take me anymore." Jess raised an arm and flexed through his shirt.

"Save it for Rory. I know that's who you're really hoping to impress with those muscles, Arnold."

Jess stammered for a second. "I told you, that is long over, man." He looked down, adjusting the cuffs of his shirt. He got that this was a big occasion, but it still felt awkward to be so dressed up.

"Yeah, I got that impression from your Bambi eyes and the way you almost fell down the front steps leaving their house yesterday." Luke snorted.

"It's fall. There are wet leaves stuck to those steps. They should put up a handrail or something!"

Luke paused to consider this. _Hmph. Handrail. Not a bad idea for my next project on the house._

"Speaking of steps and houses and things, whose place is this? I forget." Luke slipped his arms into his jacket, avoiding Jess's eye.

Jess leveled a finger at him. "Nice try, pal. You know I didn't tell you. Don't worry about it. It's no problem that we're using it today. The guy's out of town."

Luke narrowed his eyes at his nephew, but decided to let the subject drop for now.

"So how do I look?" He buttoned his jacket and spread his arms wide.

"Tie."

"Oh! Tie!" Luke turned and grabbed the blue one hanging off the back of a nearby chair. In a few flips and flourishes, it was centered and secure.

"Tryin' to match her eyes?"

"I told you it's kinda the colour scheme." Luke shrugged and lifted the end of the tie, staring at the colour and feeling himself smile against his will.

"D'awww."

"Oh, shut up. You better get yours on too."

Jess grabbed his own tie, plain black since he didn't consider himself part of the decorations. He fumbled with it for a minute.

"You need a hand there?"

"I'm fine. I just don't usually need one of these with a t-shirt."

"C'mere." Luke pulled the tie from Jess's hand and started aligning it around his neck.

"Now don't get any ideas, buddy," Jess quipped, feeling the fabric slide around his neck. "You'll look awful lonely up there without your best man."

Luke was too focused on getting the knot just right. "There! You know, you actually look pretty decent. If only I coulda convinced you to get a haircut." Luke motioned to Jess's hair with the back of his hand.

"Hey! She likes it little long." He immediately realized his slip and bit down on his lower lip.

"Oh she does, does she?" Luke full-on beamed. "Well then I wouldn't change a thing about it."

"I said _I_. _I_ like it a little long."

Luke snorted. "Don't bother, kid. We both know what you said."

Jess turned away and made a face as he reached for his jacket. _Just let it drop. He'll forget all about it._ "So we about ready to go, or do you want to practice your prom pose in front of the mirror?"

"Nah, I'm good. Just gotta grab my speech." Luke walked into the bathroom, where he had started changing earlier. The speech was in his coat pocket. He unfolded it, scanning through it somewhat nervously. He walked back out to where Jess was lacing his shoes. As Luke folded the paper up, it flipped out of his hand, landing on the bedside table. It was next to a book and as Luke reached for his speech, he noticed something peeking out of the top of the book. Glancing over at Jess, who was still occupied with his shoes, Luke delicately eased the piece of paper up another inch out of the novel. Bright blue eyes stared up at him. Luke yanked the photograph out the rest of the way.

"HA!" Jess's head shot up in reaction to his uncle's triumphant shout. "Either Rory has even more admirers than I remember or somebody forgot to tell their uncle about a new apartment." Luke held out the picture of Rory at arm's length to force Jess to look.

Jess opened his mouth to speak, but he was coming up empty on witty comebacks. _Shit._ He felt his face redden. He glanced across at the bedside clock. _Aha, a viable out_. "Looks like we better get going!"

Luke followed his gaze and his eyes widened in panic. He dropped the picture back on the table and stuffed his speech into his pocket. "Oh man. Ok, grab your jacket. I guess I can leave my stuff here if the place's yours." He continued in frantic mumbles.

"Get a grip Luke! Everything's ready." Jess reached for the doorknob and hauled the door open, leaning against it as Luke turned back and forth in the room, searching for anything he could have forgotten.

"Ok. Right. It is. Of course it is. Lorelei is so careful and thoughtful."

"Great, put that in the speech." Jess made a sharp 'let's go' gesture towards the door.

Luke squeezed his arm as he brushed past him. "You guys'll look great together today." Then he was off down the hall before Jess could reply.

* * *

Culture references in this chapter:

 _Bambi_ directed by James Algar et. al.


	6. Checklist Girl

VI

Emily was checking her reflection in the front hall mirror when she heard a rustle from the top of the stairs. She spun around and saw Lorelei cautiously descending, Rory just behind her with an armful of train.

"My, you do look lovely," she quickly raised the camera which was now hanging from a very professional-looking photography strap around her neck and started snapping off rapid shots.

"Mom, chill. I'm not Kate Middleton."

"Oh, I know that. I doubt her last meal before marriage was a handful of powdered donuts."

Lorelei had reached the main floor and let out a sigh of relief. Rory matched it, laying the train down gently. Seeing Emily continue to ogle the dress, Lorelei quipped, "Is it too late to change back into sweats? You know, the ones that say 'Juicy' on the butt?"

"Please don't tell me you still have those."

"Of course I do! They're a staple in my wardrobe!"

"They're the perfect complement to any outfit," Rory chimed in.

"Yeah, mom. Do you want to try them on and experience the magic?"

"I'll have to decline. Somehow I don't think they're a great match for formal wear," Emily gestured to her own outfit. Steering clear of the typical "mother-of-the-bride frump look" (as she had described it to Rory the day before over the phone), Emily had gone for a sleek pair of black trousers and a beautiful cobalt blouse.

Lorelei smiled at her mother. "Does it bring you joy, mom?" She indicated Emily's ensemble.

"Yes." Emily grinned.

"You look great, grandma."

Sookie came in from the kitchen. "Ok, tick tock, ladies. I've got the flowers, everybody's dressed—"

"Hey, I thought I was checklist girl today!" Rory interrupted.

"Sorry sweetie," Sookie sighed.

Rory made to continue but felt a buzz in her pocket. "Why don't you keep going for now though, Sookie? Mr. Sulu, you have the conn."

"Aye, Captain." Sookie snapped a salute and continue her verbal checklist.

Rory moved away into the kitchen, fishing her phone out of her pocket. _Ah, dresses with pockets._ She had just gotten a text from Lane, her city correspondent for the day. It sounded like the town center was really filling up. They had actually closed the roads around the square. Rory grinned. Maybe her mom wasn't the Duchess of Cambridge, but she would always be treated like royalty in this town.

As she went to put her phone away, she felt a second vibration. She clicked. There was a close-up of a black tie with the caption "A little preview."

She typed back. "Luke's handiwork, I presume."

"Ouch," came the immediate reply.

Rory smiled. "Looks good. I'd send you a pic of my own tie to compare, but I'm not wearing one."

"Racy."

She rolled her eyes then noticed he was still typing.

"G2g calm the groom. Don't fill up your dance card before I see ya, Gilmore."

She blushed and remembered her earlier thought of Jess waltzing.

Walking back into the front hall, Rory took in the tornado of last minute action that was Emily and Sookie. From the eye of the storm, a surprisingly calm Lorelei glanced up at her and smirked to see her daughter's pink face.

Rory ducked and put on her shoes, then started shepherding everyone out to the porch, down the stairs, and into the driveway.

"I really can't believe you wouldn't let me hire you a car." Emily looked annoyed.

"She'll get us there, mom." Lorelei fondly patted the door of her Jeep.

Rory quickly arranged everyone. Emily up front with her to prevent any last minute squabbling that would have resulted from cramming her in the back next to Lorelei. Sookie sat beside Lorelei, gazing lovingly at the fluff and flow of her gown and mentally constructing a cake that looked just like it. Lorelei grinned, looking around at her dress spread about her, then caught Rory's eye in the rear-view mirror. "Alright, kid. Let's get this show on the road."

Rory steered with caution, taking a slow scenic route around town. Highlights included the urns full of flowers Michel had painstakingly and symmetrically arranged to frame the doorway of The Dragonfly, a sign announcing the limited-time-only "Loreluke" special at Al's Pancake World, and Kirk chasing his pig, who had been squeezed into a pet dress for the occasion, down the sidewalk. "That's some pig!" Rory called out after him.

She parked close to the hat hedge. The night before, Lorelei had singled out this spot as the perfect one to use to remain hidden from view until her big entrance. Rory handed her purse and phone to her grandmother who kissed her cheek and her mother's. "You girls look beautiful. Don't worry, I'll capture all of it!" She tapped her lens cap and hurried out of the hedge to take her seat.

Sookie distributed their bouquets. A wild colourful assortment, perfect for their little walk through the gardens of _Wonderland_. She peeked her head around the corner and spotted Jackson sitting with their children. "Oh, I hope he remembered the…!" She took off towards him.

"Um, hurry back, Sookie!" Rory hoped Sookie's last minute checkups weren't stressing out her mom, but when she looked over at her, Lorelei had a mischievous grin on her face.

"You liiiiiiiike him."

"What?"

"Jess!"

"Mom! Keep it down!" Rory moved closer to her.

"I saw you guys yesterday. Man, I can't believe you didn't notice the tension there. It's so obvious!"

"You really want to talk to me about obvious tension when it took you and Luke this long to get together?"

"Ok, fair point. Is he the reason you were blushing earlier though? Come on, at least tell me that."

Rory's face reddened again. "He just sent me a picture, that's all."

"DIRTY!"

"Mom! It was of his tie." Lorelei looked thoughtful. "Stop right there. I can see the wheels turning as you try to come up with an inappropriate comment."

"So I'm not allowed a _50 Shades_ reference?"

"Consider it referenced. Here comes Sookie!"

Lorelei's best friend came back around the corner, looking calmer. "It's all good. Crisis averted."

"Soooo?" Lorelei beamed.

"I'll just cue the music!" Rory leaned out of the hedge and caught Sophie's eye, who had moved a grand piano out into the square. Sophie began an elegant half-tempo arrangement of Carole King's "I Feel the Earth Move". Lorelei started to sway to the music on the spot then grabbed Rory's hand and gave her a quick twirl.

"Showtime?"

"Showtime."

* * *

Culture references in this chapter:

 _Star Trek_ created by Gene Roddenberry

 _Charlotte's Web_ by E.B. White

 _50 Shades of Grey_ by E.L. James

 _I Feel the Earth Move_ by Carole King


	7. Chicken Pizza, Swedish Fish

VII

Jess kept shuffling his hand around in his pocket. Luke glared at him. "What's with the fidgeting? You forget to go to the bathroom before we left?"

"Har har. You're not exactly still as a statue yourself. If you keep playing with your speech, it's going to be so damp you won't be able to read it."

Luke examined his palms. They were pretty clammy. "I don't know why I'm this nervous. I've been living with her for years!"

"In sin!" Jess added.

"That is none of your business!"

Michel rolled his eyes. "Oh luuk, zare goes Sookie. Why eez everyone panicking today? I 'ave worked weez zis woman for years. We 'ave situations more stressful zan zis every day at zee inn. You should 'ave taken a seat in zee kitchen last week. Eet would 'ave 'elped you gain some perspective." Michel sniffed and looked over at Luke who had dropped his chin and was looking back at him with annoyed disbelief. "What?!"

"'old zat thought." Michel noticed Sookie dashing back across to the hedge. She paused briefly to give him a thumbs up. _Thank goodness she managed not to chop one of those thumbs off before the wedding_.

"Alright, you two." Jess and Luke looked at him. They had been whispering about something. Michel narrowed his eyes at them but continued. "I 'ave just been given zee official signal. Eet should be any moment now. Time for you and I to get in place." He nodded at Jess who nodded back firmly.

"Deep breath."

Luke took a massive inhalation.

Michel glanced at him. "I was talking to myself." Michel started down the path behind Jess then immediately came back and shook Luke's hand. "You make 'er very 'appy. I am proud to see the two of you 'ere today." He turned and sped after Jess. Luke looked shocked but pleased. _That guy is so unpredictable!_

Sookie came around the hedge as Michel approached. The music began. Michel smiled at her and straightened both his posture and his navy cravat before offering her his arm. Sookie giggled giddily. "I can't believe they're finally here. I mean, I can believe it, of course. It should have happened ages ago! I—"

"Sookie, we'll talk about eet after."

"Oh, right." She composed her giggles into a broad smile and started down the path towards the gazebo with Michel.

Behind the hedge, Rory's heart was pounding. She'd given her final words of love and encouragement to her mother, who now stood a few feet from her, taking deep breaths with her eyes closed and chanting something that sounded like "Chicken pizza, Swedish Fish."

"You about ready, Gilmore?" His voice drifted over from the other side of the hedge.

She jumped, then lightly slapped herself on the face. _Keep it together! All you have to do is walk a few yards to the gazebo. Totally fine_.

She stepped out from the hedge and he turned to look at her. Their eyes met. She put her foot down shakily and nearly rolled her ankle. Jess quickly moved to her and gripped her first under her elbow, then, when she had steadied, dropped his hand to the small of her back. _Is she blushing? Nah, it's not from me, she's just embarrassed. Probably wearing ridiculous shoes._ He glanced down towards her feet. That was a lot of long bare leg.

"So. Nice tie." She smiled at him.

"Thanks. It's a natural talent of mine." He offered her his arm and she took it, lightly at first, then held on more firmly.

Then they were turning to face the guests and matching up their steps. Rory glanced up to see Sookie smiling down at her from the gazebo, barely containing her excitement. She looked over at Luke who seemed to have gone a little pale.

 _Oh my god. It's ok. Just stay upright. No. Need. To. Panic._ Luke could feel his hands trembling and clasped them together in front of him. He focused and caught Jess's eye as he was coming up the aisle with Rory. Since the guests were all facing away from him, Luke judged it safe to give Jess a suggestive wink. The kid looked livid. Luke chuckled to himself.

The wink didn't miss Rory's notice. _Weird. I wonder what that's all about._ She turned her head slightly to look at Jess who immediately looked back into her eyes. She blushed again. She could see him trying to conceal a grin. Emily's camera flashed.

Rory and Jess reached the gazebo and he grasped her hand before they parted, giving her an awfully emotional look for a guy who usually played it so cool. Rory's heart leapt off a cliff. She moved to her position and turned as her mother appeared at the far end of the aisle.


	8. The Third Bridesmaid

VIII

Watching her mother come up the aisle was such a surreal experience that Rory felt as if she were still dreaming. Lorelei walked out on her own. Independent. Strong. Smiling. She shot Rory a glance then directed her focus to Luke, who Rory saw straighten up and become visibly less shaky. To Rory, it was as if she were seeing her grandmother in Lorelei's grace and elegantly commanding stride. As if she were seeing herself in Lorelei's youthful smile and blue, blue eyes. Then Lorelei shimmied her shoulders as Sophie's playing hit the chorus and all Rory saw was Lorelei herself. Her best friend. Her role model. Her mom.

As Lorelei reached the base of the steps, Sookie reached for her hand on one side, while Michel offered his on the other. The pair handed her next to Rory, who was nearly in tears, and to Jess, who received a knowing look from the bride. Finally, Luke took her hand as she turned to face him. "And I made it up here without a single cup of coffee," she grinned at him.

"Oh, I'm sure that's true. It was probably more like four or five cups."

"Well I do consider caffeine my third bridesmaid."

"You look beautiful," Luke blurted. Lorelei's eyes flooded with tears and she gave him a controlled close-lipped smile to hold back a sob of joy. They turned to face the minister.

Rory heard a whimper behind her and discreetly extricated a Kleenex from her pocket and passed it to Sookie. "Thanks, hun," she whispered. Rory turned her head slightly to acknowledge her and when she raised her eyes, Jess was staring at her.

Jess jerked his head back forward, trying to focus on whatever dry, wordy speech the minister was ploughing through, but couldn't resist the pull of Rory in the corner of his eye. It wasn't his fault, really. The colour of her dress was just so damn bright. He got the whole _Alice in Wonderland_ theme, but the girl ( _woman_ ) across from him wasn't competing with some dizzy Disney chick. Not in that colour. She was competing with the sky, clear and bright and perfect above them. That's the only thing that blue was a match for. Just that and… _her eyes_.

Rory was looking at him again and this time she was beaming. Her excitement had completely eclipsed the nerves she felt about seeing Jess today. All she had needed to recover from her embarrassing actions of a few minutes ago ( _I practically fell into his arms!_ ) was the distraction of watching her mother finally tie the knot with the man she'd been in love with for most of Rory's life. Ok, it didn't sound quite so good when she put it like that. It wasn't like such a monumental event would have been required to draw her focus from Jess, that's just how it had worked out. And it _had_ worked. That and a little physical distance between them. God, she hoped she hadn't left sweaty hand marks on his sleeve.

She pulled herself from her thoughts and darted a look across at him, trying to judge the dampness of his jacket sleeve. She lifted her gaze and met his eyes. He raised an eyebrow. _Oh my god! He probably thinks I'm checking him out!_

She darted her eyes away then back to him. Jess was looking at her with clear amusement now. He raised his hands to the lapels of his jacket and peeled them back and away from his chest slightly as if he were flashing her. Rory's face went beet red and she dropped her gaze. When she looked back at him, he was staring at Luke's back with serious concentration, though his mouth was twitching to contain a smirk.

 _Is he flirting with me? Or just trying to lighten the mood—make me feel more comfortable since he's the one who caught ME staring?_ This time, Rory let her gaze sweep over him more thoroughly. If he noticed and asked later, she had the sweaty sleeve excuse. He really looked great. Great in a way that kept the heat high in her cheeks and made her expel a little pant of breath.

His hair was still messy in a way that suited him. The smirk he was hiding was one that had always made her a little weak in the knees. _A little? A lot._ But his body. Dang. Rory had felt like a bit of a medical miracle over the years with all the junk she was able to eat without turning into the human incarnation of _Flubber_ , but looking over at Jess, it was suddenly very clear whose physique was the real miracle. She could make out the shape of his arms and shoulders through his jacket, which was also not long enough to fully conceal his ass. _Wow._ Basically she just wanted to run her hands over him on pure instinct.

Rory turned her head back to the main event. They were about to begin reciting their vows.

Certain phrases stuck out to her. Stuff about knowing each other for years but each sighting of each other feeling like the first. An early history plagued by bad timing and missed communications. She watched her mother's hands tighten on Luke's as Lorelei took the reins and plowed ahead to their more recent history. About each of them getting to where they needed to be. How the ticking clocks of their separate, busy lives had finally wound down, bringing them to rest in this moment of stillness before they rewound the clock together and let it start again.

A movement across the steps from her caught Rory's attention. Jess was wiping his eyes on the back of his hand. He looked up at her and shrugged. "Allergies," he mouthed. Rory smirked. "I have Kleenex," she mouthed back and pointed to her pocket. He nodded back at her.

Their vows reached a tearful, yet smiling conclusion and then rings were exchanged. It was Lorelei who couldn't quite keep her hands from trembling now. _Too much coffee_ , thought Luke as he steadied her hands with his own.

And then for the big kiss. A whoop went up from their guests (likely initiated by Babette) which Rory continued as both halves of the pair smiled into the kiss. "Yeah!" Jess shouted and clapped enthusiastically.

They straightened up and, clasping hands, descended the steps of the gazebo together.

* * *

Culture references in this chapter:

 _Flubber_ directed by Les Mayfield


	9. Total Recall

IX

Stars Hollow being the close-knit community that it was, everyone pitched in to fold up their chairs and layer them back onto the trailer that had brought them to the town center. Between the direction of Sookie and Emily, things were quickly reconfigured for mingling and immediate dancing. This was the way Lorelei had wanted it. Rory took a deep breath as she watched it all happen. Sophie continued on the piano and Rory felt the melody of "So Far Away" float around her.

Since they were edging further into fall all the time, the sky was already beginning to head towards twilight and the twinkle lights strung about the square blinked on. "It looks like I remember it." Rory spun around. Jess had come up behind her and was standing close.

"Well we do pride ourselves on our traditions." She felt his arm brush against her and laid her head back on his shoulder, looking up at the lights.

"No kidding. I wouldn't put it past these people to turn today into an annual holiday."

Rory laughed. "Or at least a three-act musical."

"Or a dramatic re-enactment."

"A one-man show! With Kirk playing all of the characters!"

"Now _that_ I can picture."

Rory laughed and sighed deeply. "I'm glad you're here, Jess."

"Well, I wasn't going to come, but I figured you'd need someone to talk to when the couple of the century started getting handsy." He grinned at her.

"That's very selfless of you." Jess bowed his head. "I don't buy it for a second." He put on an expression of shock. "Come on, I saw those tears."

"Perhaps you couldn't read my lips. I did say they were the result of allergies." He saw her look of incredulity wasn't shifting and sighed. "Ok, fine. The romantic inside me has not yet been crushed by literary fame and fortune. Satisfied?"

"Very," she smiled up at him.

He glanced down at her and took a deep breath. "Plus, I couldn't really avoid an event taking place within view of my window. I heard Taylor was going around banging on everybody's door to make sure your mom got the turnout she deserved."

Rory straightened up and turned to face him, shocked.

"What? Can't handle a new neighbour? I thought you Stars Hollow folks prided yourselves on being welcoming!"

"I—are you messing with me?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

He looked genuinely hurt. "No, Rory. I'm back."

Before she could react further, Luke and Lorelei walked back into the heart of the crowd, beaming and holding hands. As if alerted by a sixth sense, Lorelei swung her head around to locate Rory, who had a stunned expression on her face.

Jess gripped Rory's hand. "I'll give you guys a few minutes, ok? Luke probably needs me to pinch him or somethin'." She offered him a weak smile. "We'll talk though, I promise." She nodded and he headed into the crowd.

From the other end of it, Lorelei emerged, a royal blue shawl now draped over her bare shoulders as the sun began to go down. She pulled Rory into a hug. "So that was the fastest afternoon of my life. Thank god for your grandmother's new photography obsession. Maybe seeing the images will bring me back to myself. Like _Total Recall_." She held Rory at arm's length by her shoulders. "So tell me what's up. This look does not exactly scream pure joy." She moved her hand in a circular motion, indicating Rory's blanched face.

"Jess is back. He moved back. He lives here. Near here. I don't know where exactly, but he said that he could see the gazebo from his window and that Taylor was knocking on doors and—"

"Ok, slooooow down. Deep breath, kid. Let's walk." Lorelei started them on a leisurely stroll around the square's perimeter, her arm locked through Rory's.

"It was really perfect, mom. You guys looked great. I don't think Emily stayed in her seat. I caught the flash in the corner of my eye more than once. She was playing paparazzi."

"Well, at my next wedding I'll have tighter security and any such disruption will get her kicked out!"

"No warning!"

"No 'three strikes'!" Rory laughed. "Speaking of the next wedding though, let's get back to what you were saying. About Jess."

Rory squirmed, but her mother kept a tight hold on her arm. "It just took me by surprise."

"Well I'd say that's pretty natural."

"And, I mean, it's good of him to give me the head's up. Would've been way more surprising just bumping into him at Doose's or something."

"Yeah, way more." Lorelei eyed her daughter. "Did he say why he's back?"

"Um, no, but I didn't really get a chance to ask. Probably just looking for a quiet place to work on his next book." Rory shrugged.

"That could be a reason. Definitely not the biggest or most obvious one, but yeah, a reason." Lorelei nodded her head in consideration.

"Mom, come on. I know what you're getting at, but I really think you're wrong."

"Why?"

"It's been so long and we've both done so much. Before yesterday, he probably hadn't even thought about me. He's being polite. We're practically related now."

"Ew." Lorelei gave her a look of pure disgust. "Please say something else to get that last thought out of my head."

Rory stopped walking and stared at her mother.

Looking into her daughter's uncertain eyes, Lorelei grasped both her hands. "I know, hun. Things have been up and down for you lately. Logan. The _Gazette_. There are a lot of things hurting you and I hate that." Lorelei shook her hands. "I really hate it, Rory. I mean, you slept with a Wookie, for crying out loud!"

This elicited a moan from Rory who half smiled and hung her head in shame.

"I mean, you have no idea the burden you've placed on me. I can't even imagine the number of times in the future I'm going to ask you about the size of his lightsabre or if the force was strong in him or—" Lorelei began giggling uncontrollably—"if he made that Chewie groany-yell when he—"

"Ok, that is MORE than enough for now!" But Rory was finally smiling.

"Just… don't be afraid, Rory. You have time and if you want to try this, I'm on your side. Plus, I'm definitely a fan of the suit." Both Gilmores looked across at where Luke and Jess where standing, watching Jess attempt to dodge while Luke adjusted his tie. "And I like the fact that he's moved back. If that gives you a little more incentive to stick around, it's got my vote."

Luke looked across the square and found Lorelei. "Looks like it's waltzin' time." She grinned. "Come on, hun." Lorelei linked their arms again and led her back towards the music.

* * *

Culture references in this chapter:

 _So Far Away_ by Carole King

 _Total Recall_ directed by Paul Verhoeven

 _Star Wars_ series directed by George Lucas


	10. Aging Gropers

X

Lorelei was spun around the center of the crowd by a very graceful Luke to the tune of "Where You Lead." It was a sweet selection for their opening dance, but Rory knew that at the heart of Lorelei's choice was her inability to resist a pun. Her mother was absolutely beaming and Rory practically felt the townspeople around her breathe a collective sigh of happiness. She noticed Lane across the crowd from her, air drumming along to the music, and waved. Lane grinned back and banged out a silent combo.

"This is the most serene and elegant I've ever seen your mother look," Emily whispered to Rory as she raised her camera and got a few shots of the couple.

"Well, grandma, you're wise to document it. Tomorrow it's back to the 'Juicy' sweats."

Emily grimaced. "Oh good lord."

"I mean, apart from the times she'll pull the dress out and wear it around the house. Like a part-time Miss Havisham."

"Don't say that too loudly, Rory. We don't want to give her ideas for next year's Hallowe'en costume."

This concern struck Rory as all too valid and she pledged secrecy.

"Now Rory, I thought we could try something fun. Come stand behind me."

Furrowing her brow in confusion, Rory moved behind her grandmother. Emily pressed a few buttons on her camera to get the setting just right, then raised it above her head, angling it down to capture herself, Rory, and the happy couple whirling past in a blur of golden twinkle lights behind them. Emily Gilmore had already perfected the art of the selfie. "Say cheese, Rory!"

Rory smiled over her grandmother's shoulder. "I think that'll be a real winner," Emily said with vigour. She flicked back to look over the photo. "Alright, I'll see you in a bit. I'm hoping to capture the dance floor from every angle." She moved off into the crowd. Rory heard her starting to direct those milling around into more artful vignettes. She smiled.

Off to the side of the action, she spotted Jess sitting with his arm draped across the back of a bench. She went over to him.

"Worn out your dancin' shoes already, pal?"

"More like feigning exhaustion. You would not believe the number of older women in this town who do NOT like to take no for an answer." Jess shook his head in disbelief. "And somebody definitely grabbed my ass!"

Rory smirked and looked down, not trusting herself to comment on that.

"So does that mean _your_ dance card is punched for the night?"

Jess looked up at her and grinned. "That's certainly the message I'm trying to put out, but for the Maid of Honour I'd be willing to make an exception."

"Good. I noticed a reserved section on my own dance card marked 'Best Man'."

"Is that so?" He dropped his arm to his side and smiled up at her.

"It is, Mr. Mariano." Rory took a deep breath and extended her hand to him with a flourish.

"Well then who am I to resist, Miss Gilmore?" He grabbed her hand and stood suddenly. Oh. He was closer than she had thought he'd be. All of a sudden, right there, inches from her. His eyes flicked down to her mouth. He slid the hand holding hers up around her wrist and rested it on her forearm. She got goosebumps.

"Looks like we better get you moving, huh? I don't want you getting hypothermia at your mom's wedding. Or, no, wait. What am I thinking?" He dropped his hand and shrugged his jacket off his shoulders. _Damn, those shoulders_ , thought Rory.

"Oh no, Jess, you don't have to…" But his arms were already coming up around her as he arranged the jacket on her shoulders. He took his time, not meeting her eyes. Rory could feel the heat coming off his body as his arms almost encircled her.

"Jess?" He looked up at her, steadily, his hands settling on her shoulders. She lost her nerve.

"Rory, where are you staying tonight?" _Well, that was bold of him_. She must have looked surprised because suddenly his words were rushing out as he tried to explain himself. "Oh, no. No no no. I just mean since your grandmother's in town and I bumped into Lane earlier and she mentioned you'd been spending a lot of time at her house and Sookie only just got back."

He realized he was rambling and took a breath. "I mean, you have a lot of options. I know Lorelei and Luke are shacking up at the Dragonfly, and I assume your grandma will be staying at your house. It would be a _little_ awkward to stay in the room next to the newlyweds at the inn." He was barely pausing for a breath so Rory couldn't get a word in to answer him. "And, sure, there's Lane's place, but she's got kids and sometimes her bandmates. Speaking of kids, Sookie's got a few of those now, so you might not pick her house if you're looking for a good night's sleep either."

"Jess, relax. You sound like some kind of reverse-salesman for Airbnb. Are you _trying_ to talk me out of imposing myself on someone's hospitality?" She laughed.

"Man. No. I guess I'm just trying to be hospitable myself. If you do actually need a place to stay tonight, that is, though I'm sure anyone in this town would be happy to put you up." He made a sweeping gesture around them.

"And at your place I could get a good night's sleep?" She tried not to drop her gaze as she met his eyes. They widened and he swallowed, clearly trying to decipher if there had been a come on in Rory's comment.

"I mean, I got a new bed for the place. I think my old one's been repurposed as a sacrifice to mom and T.J.'s vegetable fetish. Not that I would sleep on the bed. You would. Obviously. I have a couch," he added weakly.

Rory decided to rescue him. "That'd be great, Jess." She put her hand on his warm arm. "I actually hadn't planned where I was going to stay tonight. All of this has taken up most of my brain recently. I might have an identity crisis when it's over."

"I guess I'll have that to look forward to tomorrow." He laughed. "Now that's settled, I think it's time to remind Luke he's not the only one in the family who knows how to lead. Shall we?" Jess offered Rory his arm, as he had earlier in the day to lead her up the aisle.

She took it, beaming at him, and they worked their way back into the crowd. Rory spotted Lane again, closer this time. "I'll be right back, Jess! I promise. Try to protect yourself from aging gropers while I'm gone!"

"How could you, traitor?!"

Rory tossed his jacket back to him and slipped away to find Lane. She had to shake her shoulder twice to get Lane out of whatever drum fantasy she was currently imagining. "Heeey, Rory! I've barely seen you tonight! You look great! Loving the music selection!"

Rory smiled at her. "I'll pass along the complements. I can't even take credit for the dress." She gestured down at herself. "Mom just had a vision for it all."

"Well, you pull it off, sister. Seriously, you should lock down the copyright on those photos Emily's taking. If Disney gets a hold of them, you could be the next animated princess." Lane's face turned serious. "Really though, if that happens, ask if you can bring me in to do the orchestral score. I'm thinking lots of percussion." She grinned.

"I'll turn down John Williams if I have to," Rory pledged. Lane was making motions of getting back into her drum groove so Rory blurted it out. "So I just wanted to let you know I won't be bunking at your place tonight. Tell Steve and Kwan we'll have our midnight pirate duel another time."

"Woah woah woah." Lane's eyes shifted from Rory's to focus on something behind her. Rory turned her head, an 'Earth to Lane' already on her lips, when she realized what, or who, Lane must be staring at. There was Jess, clearly being chatted up by Miss Patty and doing his darnedest to stand fully facing her so as not to provide an opportunity for her to feel up his backside. "I get it, totally cool." She grinned at Rory.

"Lane, why are you assuming—"

"So I'm wrong? If I am, just tell me. No big deal." Her grin widened.

"Ok, I am going to stay with him, but it's not like that."

"Oooh, of course not. I mean, it's not like you guys have been exuding this strong, _sexual_ —" she hissed, "—vibe all night. I'm sure you're just going to hang out and debate the role of trees in 15th century poetry or whatever it is you intellectuals do. By the way, does that mean Jess is living in Stars Hollow?"

"No, we haven't been. No, we probably won't discuss something that weirdly specific, but it will be equally benign. Yes, Jess is living here." Rory paused. "I think I've addressed everything."

"Well, as I've heard Paris say on more than one occasion, 'no glove, no love'." Lane patted Rory on the back. "Go get 'em, Gilmore!"

Rory felt the blood saturate her face and turned back towards Jess. She smiled to herself and then to him as he met her eyes.

* * *

Culture references in this chapter:

 _Where You Lead_ by Carole King

 _Great Expectations_ by Charles Dickens


	11. 24hr Dances Don't Count

XI

"You know, I have been to my fair share of dances," Rory pouted as Jess tried to not-so-subtly correct her posture for the third time.

"If the dance lasted for 24 hours, it doesn't count. Don't forget I've seen you at one of those and by the end you weren't exactly Ginger Rogers."

"Ah, but you don't understand the style of that sort of dance. The signature move of the 24 hour dance is just remaining upright anyway possible. Shoulder slumping and head drooping are accepted, even encouraged!"

Jess laughed. "I guess I can respect that." He raised the hand he was holding and twirled her around. "Just let me handle leading for now, ok?" He grinned at her delighted expression.

Jess maneuvered her among the other bodies on the dance floor, pulling her a little closer as more and more people joined the dancing.

"You're pretty good at this, you know?"

"Thanks, that means a lot coming from the almost-champ of the Stars Hollow dance marathon."

She rolled her eyes. "You're not going to let that drop, are you?"

He moved the hand resting on her waist to cover his heart. "Excuse me, but that is one of my most treasured memories." He replaced his hand, sliding it around to her back. She hadn't realized she was cold there until she felt his warm hand through her dress.

"I doubt that. You weren't even participating."

"Tell that to the participation ribbon Miss Patty wouldn't let me leave without." Jess smiled at her, but he could tell that she was waiting for a longer explanation. "I—" he looked down, then forced himself to meet her eyes. _You're not a kid anymore_. "That night was messy and there were a lot of hurt feelings, but it's how I ended up feeling at home here for the first time. You're the heart of this town, you know, Rory? And before that night I felt like an outsider. Being with you was what brought me in."

Rory looked him in the eye as the music faded out, neither of them dropping their hands.

"God, please say something so I feel like less of an idiot," he implored her.

"At least you didn't have to mess around with 'Drink This' or 'Eat That'." She gave him a small encouraging smile. "To get inside?" He looked puzzled for a moment then rolled his eyes as he caught on.

"No, you were never that bossy." He grinned and her face lit up with a smile.

Sophie had abandoned the piano for the night and switched over to electronically DJing. Rory smiled to herself as "Then She Appeared" began to play.

"What? Your favourite song or something?"

"I was humming it this morning. Just a funny coincidence I guess."

"Maybe there are no coincidences," Jess whispered dramatically and pulled Rory in close, easing her into a medium-speed sway. She laughed and leaned her head back, watching the lights blur above her as he kept her steady. Occasionally, Jess's warm exhalations tickled her neck. She felt as if she were falling up into the sky. When she looked back at him, he was gazing at her with wonder, mouthing the lyrics: 'shines from her blue eyes'.

While the afterglow of the lights was still bright in her eyes, while the world was still a little off kilter, while Jess was still staring at her as if he _had_ in fact been thinking about her before they met the other day… she pressed into him and kissed him.

There was no hesitation on Jess's end. His hands flattened on her back as if he was trying to hold as much of her as he could, then his fingers curled in, gripping her _Alice_ dress in two bunches against her lower back. She felt his muscular arms flex as they wrapped around her. His mouth was eager and he manipulated her lips with his as naturally and skillfully as she remembered.

After a moment had gone by, taking most of the air in Rory's lungs with it, she leaned back slightly, keeping her body pressed to his. "Are you surprised?" She was going to go with _Was that ok?_ , but the glazed look in his eyes spoke for itself.

He shrugged, keeping his arms around her. "I saw you checking me out during the ceremony."

"No! I was just…" _I have an excuse for this. I thought it up before. Come ooon, what was it?_ Before Rory could call it to mind, Jess's lips were once again pressed to hers. His hand came up to cup the back of her neck. She closed her eyes and felt the cool fall air against her face contrast with Jess's hot mouth on hers. Her hands inched lightly up the back of his neck, making him shiver against her.

Rory could feel herself slipping into a kiss-fueled daze and stopped before she could fully surrender to it. She forced herself to take a step back and patted Jess on the chest. _Mmm, nice_. "I hate to interrupt you when you're on a roll like that, but, as Maid of Honour, I better make the rounds. Share my dance card a little."

"Do you have to?"

"It's more fun that way, isn't it?" She smiled at him and he saw the sweet, innocent Rory he had fallen hard for years earlier. He jerked his chin away from her. "Beat it," he said with a grin. She held his hand then disappeared between the swirling couples.


	12. So Damn Sneaky

XII

Rory had never seen Luke so tongue-tied around someone who wasn't her mother. Usually, when he had something on his chest, he just rambled until it was all out in the open. Typically with jerky, expansive gestures. Maybe once he did start talking she'd have to retreat to a safe distance. Rory decided to be patient with her newly minted stepfather and hope that her silence and the way she was passively trying to stay out of the way while he led would encourage him to speak. He really was a great dancer and she dearly hoped he would never catch her stress-tap dancing.

Finally, he cleared his throat. "She seems good, right? Your mother. Not too anxious?"

"She's great, Luke. Even grandma said earlier that she'd never seen mom so calm."

Luke looked away from Rory, zeroing in on where Lorelei was dancing with Michel. Or rather, where Michel was attempting to dance with Lorelei while she laughed hysterically—likely at Michel's expense, judging by the sour look on his face.

"Ok, good. That's good. You know, Rory, it's just with things like this, there's so much pressure and so many details and—" She felt his arms jerk as he supressed the nature urge to gesture.

"Are you sure _you_ aren't the one we should be worried about?" Rory caught Luke's eye. "You seem awfully restless considering all the critical stuff is over."

"Me? Nah, I'm good." He danced calmly with her for another minute or so. Then his eyes darted around. "You didn't happen to talk to Jess at all, did you?" He was trying so hard to be casual it was almost causing Rory physical discomfort.

Clearly Luke hadn't noticed them speaking by the bench earlier. Or passionately kissing just a couple of songs ago. He clearly only had eyes for Lorelei this evening, which was sweet, and gave Rory a massive sense of relief for her own part.

"Uh, yeah, a little."

"Did he mention anything… interesting?"

 _Ah._ Luke was trying to discover whether Jess had told her about his apartment in Stars Hollow, obviously without giving away the information in case Jess was trying to keep it quiet.

"He told me he's back, so you can relax about keeping his secret."

Luke let out a sigh. "I don't know why he has to be so damn sneaky with me when he tells you the same information within five seconds of seeing you."

"Well, it was a little longer than—"

"Are you ok, Rory?"

She frowned in confusion. "Yes…?"

"I mean, if this is not cool, what he's doing, I'll tell him to back off. I just thought that with him a little more stable now—he really has grown up a lot the last couple of years—and you back…"

Rory's head slumped forward. At this point she'd just have to give up telling people she wasn't 'back'.

"… that maybe things would work out better for you guys this time. If you're interested. He's back, you're back…" Luke trailed off.

"I'm sure Jess will be thrilled to hear what a compelling wingman you've been for him this evening." Rory smiled.

"I'm sorry if I'm being pushy. I definitely don't want to butt in if you don't want advice. It's just—you've always been like—"

"I know, Luke. You've been like that to me too."

"Man, you are one great kid, you know that?" Luke pulled her forward into a hug mid-turn. "I better go rescue Michel." They both looked over at Lorelei. She was now bent almost double and was using the arm draped over Michel's shoulder more for support than correct dance posture.

"10-4, good buddy. I think I might go relieve Lane."

"Relieve Lane? Why, what's she…?" Luke looked around for her, spotted her dancing with Jess, and turned back to Rory, beaming. "Ok then."

Jess was indeed dancing with Lane, at her insistence. She refused to let him lead, but at least she had a good sense of rhythm, so she wasn't a bad partner. The issue was more with the shifty looks she kept throwing at him. After a particularly probing one, Jess rolled his eyes. "Why don't you just get it over with?"

"I don't know what you mean." Her eyes narrowed.

"The interrogation, you weirdo."

She looked at him with indignation. "Hey, you aren't allowed to call me a weirdo, pal. I have a husband. And kids!"

"And I have a blue couch and about a 1000 candles because I keep forgetting to buy lamps!"

"In your new apartment?" _Jesus, she sounds like she's auditioning to play a cop._

"No, in Doose's stockroom. Yes, in my new apartment."

"You know we have Neighbourhood Watch, right?"

"Trust me, I'm very familiar with being watched by my neighbours in this town."

"Why are you back?"

"Not enough weird festivals where I was living."

"Really."

"There were too many options for grocery stores."

"Jess."

"You know, moving to a small town to write is pretty common with people in my profession. Hell, you ever heard of Walden Pond? I could be out in the wilderness right now. A much better place not to have lamps."

"Don't think you're fooling anyone, especially not Rory."

"Rory who?" He thought Lane was going to snap. Instead she took a deep breath.

"Just don't disappoint her. You're kind of her… well… you're her Luke."

"I'm her Luke? What the hell does that mean?"

Lane was about to expound on her comment when she noticed Rory approaching over Jess's shoulder. "Well," she slapped him on the arm, "nice talking to you."

"Lane!" He yelled after her. "What does that mean?!"

* * *

Culture references in this chapter:

 _Walden_ by Henry David Thoreau


	13. Grammatical Acrobatics

XIII

"What do you think it means when someone says somebody is somebody's somebody else?" The dancing had thinned out as the evening cooled and Jess was walking a perimeter around the stragglers with Rory, his jacket back around her shoulders.

"Do you think you could repeat that?"

Jess thought for a moment, considering if a way to rephrase his comment without giving anything away existed. It didn't. He repeated it word for word.

Rory looked down while she puzzled it out. "Like if you hear a commercial where the voiceover guy has a really deep voice but it's kind of odd in the context of the ad and you think 'Boy, this guy is a poor man's Morgan Freeman'?"

Jess laughed. "Sort of. But more like a compliment."

"Is this for something you're working on? Because I would definitely try to find a better way to say that."

 _Is it for something I'm working on? Well, kinda…_ "Yeah. That's why I'm trying to understand it better."

"But isn't the concept in your own mind?"

"Sometimes I need to bounce ideas off people." He shrugged.

"People?" _Which people?_ "Often?"

"No, not often. Just sometimes. If it's important."

"And this idea is both important _and_ indecipherable to you?"

Jess barked out a laugh. "Yeah, pretty much." He ran a hand through his hair.

"I don't know if a statement like that can really exist as a compliment."

"What do you mean?"

"If you're praising someone, why would you do it through the context of somebody else? Like would you say that _Avatar_ is James Cameron's _Jaws_? Not likely, because they're not the same thing. Two people are even less the same. Plus, in a comparison like that, somebody comes out looking better. It depends on the perspective of the person making the statement and the person hearing it. If you felt like you hadn't lived until you saw blue Pocahontas in 3D, then maybe 'We're gonna need a bigger boat' pales in comparison. If you were literally anyone else in the world, the same statement just comes off as a major insult to _Jaws_. To evoke the sense of a compliment, there needs to be some equality between your first and third 'somebodies', which is impossible unless the somebodies are something much more benign like… the mermaid in the Starbucks logo is coffee's Ronald McDonald. Even that hits a little too close to home."

"Because it's about coffee?"

"Yes! I take that one back."

"So even if the statement were like that I'm your—"

"You're my what?"

"Ahh…" He looked away.

"I think that in that case, you can just drop the rest of the statement."

"Drop it?"

"Yeah. Cut it, amputate it, edit it out, Mr. Writer."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Rory stopped walking. "Because if this is really about you, then I want you to know that you're not being compared to anyone. You're not my anybody else."

"In that case, I'd have to make an additional edit."

"And what would that be?"

"S."

"S?"

"I'm yours."

Stunned silence.

"Jess."

"Yeah?"

"What does that mean? You're my what?"

"You know, as an editor, it kinda makes you look bad that you've already forgotten we dropped the rest of the statement."

"Well then I'm making an executive decision to add it back in." Rory crossed her arms.

"Well it's my hypothetical statement we were working on." Jess mirrored her, crossing his arms as well. He both loved and hated when she was stubborn like this.

"You invited my help. When we're working in collaboration, I outrank you."

"Not on my own project!"

"Yuh huh! You came to me for advice! Advice-givers have more knowledge than advice-requesters, hence why they're asked for advice. You, as a requester, should be satisfied that, having obtained the information, you will be able to put it to use, and ultimately get the credit for it." She was impressed by her own impromptu grammatical acrobatics.

"I'm not looking for credit, I just want to understand how it makes you feel."

"Very noble, valuing the reader above yourself."

"No. You, you, Rory. Not 'you' as a test subject representative of my target demographic."

"Well then tell me what it means."

"You know what it means. You tell me what _you_ meant when you said I'm not your anybody else."

"Jess."

"Was I the only one paying attention during that kiss?"

"…No."

"Then I think you need to stop playing dumb and tell me how you feel."

Her tone was still argumentative. "I—" He put his fingertips to her lips to silence her. "Tell. Me how. You feel."

She pushed his hand aside. "You didn't just kiss me because of nostalgia? Because we were talking about the night of the dance? Or because people, you know, often hook up at weddings?"

He laughed. "First of all, you kissed me."

"I might have started it, but you certainly did your part."

"Well why did you kiss me?"

"Why did _you_ kiss _me_?!"

"This is ridiculous." Jess stepped towards her, at the same time taking her face between his hands, and kissed her fiercely, trying to put the thoughts and feelings he'd had about her for almost as long as he could remember into it. He kissed her for the times he'd left and come back. For the hurt he knew he'd caused her. For the hurt she'd caused him when she let him walk away after telling her he loved her. When she wouldn't take off to New York with him when he'd asked her to. He kissed her because in all of those times before it hadn't been right and now it was.

Jess broke the kiss when he could no longer stand not knowing her reaction.

Rory looked him in the eyes. "You're in love with me."

"I'm in love with you."

She looked away. "You're mine and you're in love with me."

"Still waiting to hear how you're feeling about all this."

She looked at him, her eyes still a little distant.

"Like, why did you kiss me?" he prompted her.

"Oh. Because your ass looks great in that suit." She gave him a sly smile.

The tension broke and Jess laughed as he pulled her back in. "Your legs look great in that dress." He sealed their lips once more.

* * *

Culture references in this chapter:

 _Avatar_ directed by James Cameron

 _Jaws_ directed by Steven Spielberg


	14. Actually, I'm Walking

XIV

"So grandma's driving the car back to the house, Luke's driving me to the Dragonfly, and you're getting a ride to Lane and Zack's?"

"Actually, I'm walking."

"You're walking to Lane's?"

"I'm walking to… Jess's."

Lorelei raised her eyebrows and smirked suggestively. It was for this very reason that Rory hadn't told her mother about her change in plans earlier. Lorelei was just giddy enough tonight that she would have been flashing Rory those looks all evening.

"To _Jess's_? My, what would your mother say?"

"So you aren't upset?" Once Lorelei's enjoyment of the raunchiness of the situation had worn off, Rory could see this swinging the other way and her mother's protective side coming out. Another good reason to wait until it was too late for Lorelei to try to talk her out of it. Luke was currently saying his final goodnights to the friends and family members who had stayed until the bitter end and would be momentarily pulling the car up to whisk away his new bride.

"Nah. I think you're both in better places now. Even—" Lorelei put her hand under Rory's chin as her daughter made to look away in disagreement, "—if you don't see it yet. Come here, hun." Lorelei pulled Rory into a tight hug.

"Mom! Your dress!"

Lorelei shrugged. "I won't be wearing it much longer anyway."

"Gross. You shouldn't say things like that to me. I'm still your child."

"So then I should be heading over there—" she nodded to where Luke and Jess were doing a manly pat on the back hug, "—and threatening that young man before he tries to take my little girl home?"

Rory sighed dramatically. "You're telling me the trade-off for me going with Jess is having to accept your dirty comments about Luke?"

"Sounds that way."

"You're sick."

"We're all mad here!" Lorelei swept her arms wide, grinning. "Remind me to thank Kirk again for all this. Now go. Have a good time, kid. Nobody puts baby in the corner."

"I love you, mom."

"I love you too, kid."

"I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Just don't call too early. I'll be sleepin' in."

Rory crumpled up her face in disgust.

"Judging by the way he was kissing you, you won't be up too early either." Lorelei nudged her repeatedly with her elbow.

"When did you see…?"

"Both times."

Rory flushed and shoved her gently away.

"You didn't say anything to your grandmother, did you?"

"You don't really think I'd still be standing here in one piece if I had, do you? No, she thinks I'm going to be spending the night babysitting and listening to hard rock."

Lorelei giggled. "Hard rock. Dirty."

Rory rolled her eyes. "I think it's time for you to go now."

They turned together and watched Luke pull the truck up to the curb. Tin cans tinkled along behind; the rear fender had been jointly decorated by Sookie and Michel earlier in the evening. Luke put it in park and jumped out to get the door for Lorelei. Once Lorelei was up in her seat, Rory helped her tuck her dress inside. She could hear Emily snapping off pictures in the background. Rory closed the door on her mother and Luke pulled into the empty street. Lorelei blew Rory a kiss through her window. "I'm married!" she yelled as they drove away.

Rory smiled, sighed, and turned back to those who remained. Sookie, Michel, her grandmother, Zack and Lane. Jess. She knew she would remember this moment long after the evening ended. Those closest to her all turned to watch Luke and Lorelei vanish down the road, set against the backdrop of a sparkling Wonderland, and framed by the glow of hundreds of warm yellow lights.

Sooner than she would have liked, the group began to break up. Sookie took her hand, then pulled her into a hug, tears welling up in her eyes. Rory extracted another Kleenex from her pocket and handed it to her with a sympathetic smile. Michel kissed her once on each check and left with Sookie, worrying about her driving in an increasingly emotional state.

Emily approached her next, beaming, and handed Rory back her purse and phone. "Well, I think I really captured today. I'm going to go through these tonight—" Emily hefted her camera, "—and then you can take a look tomorrow when you're home. I'll have duplicates printed of anything you like, Rory." Her smile tugged down slightly. "I wish Richard could have been here to see this."

"I'm sure he saw it, grandma." Rory suddenly felt bad for abandoning her grandmother for the night. "You know, if you want, I can drive back with you and we can just marathon anything you like. Order pizza?"

"You're very sweet, but I'll be just fine. I'm going to be busy going through my photographs. And if I get hungry, I know where you keep the good Pop-Tarts." She gave Rory a sly look and patted her cheek. "I better head out while a few of you are still around, just to make sure I can actually get Lorelei's horrible vehicle started." She walked over to the Jeep and when it started on her second attempt she stuck her hand out the window, giving Rory a thumbs up before heading off.

Rory walked back to where Lane was standing with Zack's arm around her, talking to Jess. When she approached, Jess whipped his head around to face her. Even in the sparse light from the gazebo, she could tell he was blushing. _Hmmm._

"I hear you're not coming over tonight," said Zack, looking over at Rory. "You're going to have to make it up to Kwan and Steve. I don't think pirates are going to cut it, so you'd better come prepared with something extra up your sleeve. Our kids are insane." He shook his head. "I _really_ hope they're sleeping when we get home."

"Oh, hun. You know it's far more likely that they have Brian tied to the ceiling fan or are hitting him with some random object in our house that we had no idea could be used as a weapon," Lane smiled. Rory knew she saw herself reflected in her little rebels.

Lane took Rory's hand. "Well, I guess we're gonna get going if everything—" she glanced from Rory to Jess and back, "—is still good?"

Rory flicked her eyes quickly over to Jess and they shared an awkward look. "Uh, yep. We're fine. All good here. Night, Lane. Zack." Rory pulled each of them into quick hugs then walked with them to their car, Jess following a few meters behind. As Lane climbed into the passenger's seat she hissed at Rory, "Call me tomorrow. I gotta know what happens!"

Rory nodded at her as subtly as she could, then said loudly, "Night, guys! Drive safe!"

Lane continued watching them out the window, giving her a conspiratorial look until they rounded the corner.

"So," Rory said, turning back to Jess. He had come up behind her and she could feel his body heat inches away. "You can probably guess what that was about."

"Oh yeah," Jess replied. "I think I just got my first taste of Neighbourhood Watch." He offered her his hand. "Let's get outta here."

She took it.

* * *

Culture references in this chapter:

 _Dirty Dancing_ directed by Emile Ardolino


	15. It's About 50-50

XV

Jess was lost in his thoughts as he walked with Rory back to his apartment. Their fingers were intertwined and he allowed her to drift slowly away from him until he held only her fingertips before reeling her back in. He glanced over at her and saw she was staring up at the moon. It seemed to hang over the Stars Hollow gazebo as if it were suspended on a string and the whole thing was some kind of Wes Andersonian diorama. "Feels like I should be dressed up as a Boy Scout."

Rory stared at him in confusion.

"Sorry." He smiled. "I saw you staring at the moon, and everything looks so damn idyllic tonight, that I was thinking it's the sort of thing that a design team on a movie set would take months to assemble, but that happens here almost accidentally. You're living in _Moonrise Kingdom_."

Rory looked relieved. "Oh, thank god. I thought you were expressing some hidden fetish to me and I just didn't know how to reply."

He laughed. "What about me says to you that my greatest desire is to dress up in a Boy Scout uniform?"

"Well you've never been predictable." Rory smiled.

He pulled her in and threw his arm around her shoulders. Somehow she still felt chilly, despite having his jacket. She sighed at the feel of his warm body and leaned into him.

"How are you still so hot?"

He glanced down at her and quirked his eyebrow up.

"Ugh, you know what I mean." She rolled her eyes as he laughed.

"Well according to you, it's because of the pants." He patted his thigh as they walked. When he looked back at her, she was smiling. In the dark, her face appeared incredibly pale and her eyes shone at him like two sapphires. _Wow._

"So where are we headed, anyway?"

"Not much further."

"How far?"

"It's pretty close."

"Then how close?"

"Close enough that I could see a green light if you ever shone one from your place."

"Wonderful allusion, old sport, but my feet are tired."

"Probably from Luke steppin' on 'em when you were dancing."

"He didn't step on my feet!" Rory looked up at him. "Aw, are you jealous 'cause I didn't only dance with you?"

"No," he said petulantly. He was looking straight ahead now though, so Rory knew she was right. She decided to push his buttons a little more.

"He really is a great dancer. I can see what my mom has been talking about all these years."

"Yeah, right."

"No, really. It's literally been years that she hasn't shut up about his waltzing capabilities."

"Not that. I mean you can't possibly be that impressed by him."

"Clearly you have never seen me tap-dance. I'm easily impressed by an ability to move in a rhythmically consistent, non-… stumble-y manner."

"I don't mean impressed by him in relation to yourself. I mean in relation to me! To how _I_ danced with you."

"How you danced…?" She tipped her head to the side and looked as though she were trying to recall a time when this might have happened.

He jostled her as they walked. "What a character. Could you stop giving me such a hard time here?"

Rory smiled at him. "You were the best."

"I know. And that's more like it." He smirked arrogantly. "Though are you just saying that so I'll get you indoors faster?"

"It's about 50-50."

Jess stopped walking.

Rory groaned. "Why are you making me suffer?"

"We're here."

* * *

Culture references in this chapter:

 _Moonrise Kingdom_ directed by Wes Anderson


	16. An Outrageous Number of Screwdrivers

XVI

Standing in Jess's living room was funny. There were empty bookshelves against two out of the three walls and large paintings wrapped in cloth leaning against them. Jess had gone into another room, so Rory savoured her minutes alone. She felt a little like they were still the high school kids they'd been when they met and she had stepped forward in time to Jess's future life. In a way, she supposed that _was_ what had happened. They hadn't seen each other in years. She smiled, remembering how Jess's first room in Stars Hollow was the one he and Luke had made together, with the assistance of a sledgehammer. What a long way all of them had come.

She walked up to one of his bookcases, careful not to bump the painting resting against it, and stood on tiptoes to look into the top shelves, then knelt to the see the one just above floor-level.

"Can I offer you a recommendation?"

Rory looked up. Jess was standing there holding two bottles of water.

"No, that's alright. I just found the one I wanted." She pretended to withdraw an invisible book from the shelf and mimed flipping through the pages.

"Ah, _50 Shades of Grey_. A modern classic."

Rory's shoulders jerked with her sudden laugh. "How embarrassing. I didn't realize I'd wandered into your erotica department."

Jess shrugged, playing along. "Well, miss, this _is_ an X-rated bookstore, though we do stock some lighter romances near the door. _The Time Traveler's Wife_ , that sorta thing." He walked past her, throwing himself down on the couch and setting the bottles on the coffee table. He looked over at her, grinning.

Rory stood, eyeing the bottles. "You wouldn't happen to have any—"

"Coffee?" Her face lit up. He laughed. "Yeah, I just put it on. Should be done in a minute."

"You're a saint." She walked in the direction Jess had come from with the water bottles.

"Well I figured, you're awake, so you probably want coffee."

She stopped in the doorway, leaning against the frame and smiled at him. "That's the beauty of coffee—it's a 24hr drink." She disappeared into the kitchen.

Jess sat on the couch, trying to get his mind to be as relaxed as he hoped his outward appearance was. _She looks right here_ , came from one part of his brain. _Shut up! You don't want to freak her out!_ from another. Jess couldn't tell which was the devil and which the angel, or if his thoughts represented something else altogether. He closed his eyes and tried to picture them reading in here together. _Good. A safe image._ The next moment, it turned into one of Rory reclining in front of his fireplace reading, half-covered in the plaid blanket currently draped over the back of his couch. And nothing underneath it. _Jesus, Jess. Snap out of it!_ He reached for his water and took a long drink.

"I don't have any pajamas."

He nearly spat out his water. "What?" he said through a cough.

Rory had come back into the room cradling the biggest mug he owned in her hands. "Pajamas. I was planning to stay over at Lane's tonight, remember? And besides my mom's house, hers is the one with the largest quantity of my clothing in it."

"It's fine, you can borrow something. I can guarantee everything is clean because most of it hasn't been unpacked yet."

"I figured that. I mean, obviously, the first thing you would have unpacked would have been your books." Rory gestured at the empty shelves.

Jess nodded. "Obviously. I've only owned the place for two weeks, and I've just been gradually moving stuff here. I didn't want to dump anything at mom and TJ's. My mom would've blabbed to Luke and the next thing you know, he would've been in here with a ladder, and a belt sander, and an outrageous number of screwdrivers, and a… I don't know." Jess waved his hands around while he thought. "A stud finder."

Rory laughed. "And I thought that's why _I_ was here." She came around the side of the couch and sat down at the opposite end from him. _But still on the same couch_ , he thought, looking across the coffee table at its mate.

Jess glanced over at her. Rory had her feet tucked up underneath her and was holding her mug with one hand while smoothing the skirt of her dress with the other.

"I should've asked, do you want to change now? I'm sure you'd love to get out of that dress. I guess I didn't say anything right away because I'm… not tired of seeing you in it yet." He was blushing slightly.

"My, what a lavish compliment! Are you also feeling slightly happier than _neutral_ to have me here? Would you say that the wedding today was _decent_?"

"Sorry! Maybe I'm just trying to set a model of appropriate behaviour." He looked at her searchingly, and she could see for the first time that he was nervous.

"Oh, you can do better than that. I did tell you your ass looked great. I've set the compliment bar pretty high."

"That was a joke though."

She turned to face him, her mouth twitching as she tried to limit her smile to a smirk. "Was it?"

"Oh man, Rory." Jess put elbows to knees and head to hands. He heard Rory set her mug down on the table and her dress rustle as she scooted over to sit next to him.

"What is it?" She put her hand on his back.

"I've been so impulsive lately. Coming back, then moving back."

"You've always been impulsive." She laughed.

He continued as if she hadn't spoken. "Kissing you. Telling you I love you." Jess stood and started to pace, one hand on his hip and the other making sharp gestures. "Bringing you back here. But you need to know that I'm serious." Rory stood and made to walk to him, but he held up a hand to stop her. "I don't want to rush this. Right now I'm thinking I'm about the luckiest bastard there is. I couldn't have imagined you coming here tonight, and here you are. And you look like…" He stopped pacing and stared at her, standing barefoot in her blue dress in his living room. "…that. And the whole thing just feels like a goddamn miracle. And on top of all that, you're flirting with me. Or at least I want to think that you are. That you're not just being friendly because we've known each other a long time and some people we really care about got married today." He stopped and took a deep breath. Rory held perfectly still. "I don't want to rush because I want so _badly_ for you to feel the same."

"Are you done?"

Jess shrugged and gestured loosely without saying anything. "I—" Rory reached him in two strides, locking her arms around his neck and pulling his mouth down to hers. Jess wrapped his arms around her and pressed her body into his. He began kissing her heatedly, pulling at her lips with his own while reaching a hand up to bury it in her hair. Rory's hands had found a resting place against his chest, but were now starting to move, her fingers working to undo the top buttons of his dress shirt.

"Wait." He leaned back, trying to focus on her face. Her mouth was red from kissing him.

"I love you too," Rory said, answering the question he hadn't asked. He was still staring at her mouth, but thought he might have been imagining what was coming out of it. She reached up and put her cool hand on his face. Jess looked into her eyes. "I love you too. It hasn't been the same here without you." Then he was kissing her again, cupping her face in his hands. She smelt and tasted like coffee and autumn.

"Wait."

This time she rolled her eyes impatiently at his interruption.

"If we start this, are you just going to stop me again?"

"You're the one stopping it! I haven't said stop! I didn't even think stop! I'm not 18 anymore! I—" he muffled her words in a kiss, and this time Rory could feel the difference. Something inside of him had let go and he was kissing her deeply. She moaned into his mouth and he backed her up into the wall. Her leg bumped against something and she heard the painting leaning against the bookshelf slide then hit the ground with a thud. She looked down.

"Oh, no! Your—"

"Leave it." His eyes were burning when she looked into them. Everything slowed down. His fingers tangled in her hair, working her bobby pins out and letting them fall to the ground until her hair tumbled down. Holding her gaze, Jess ran his hands down the back of her neck, then across her back to her shoulders. When she shivered from his delicate touch, he bent his knees, grabbed the back of her bare thighs, and hoisted her up so that her weight was balanced on his hips. He stepped as close in to her as he could get, pressing his hips to hers.

Rory panicked for a second, irrationally afraid that he would drop her. She jolted, but refocused when she saw his eyes slide shut with pleasure from the feeling of her jerking against him. _Hard rock_ , she thought. She moved her hands from his shoulders to rest behind his neck, feeling the muscles of his upper back tighten under her fingers. When his eyes opened to rest on hers, she was ready.

* * *

Culture references in this chapter:

 _The Time Traveler's Wife_ by Audrey Niffenegger


	17. Like Walt Whitman Intense?

XVII

 _It's lucky these shelves are solid wood_ , Rory thought. Otherwise they would've had a situation resembling Evy's library dominoes in _The Mummy_. Rory's thighs were gripping Jess's hips as he pressed her into the corner where the bookcase met the wall and kissed her enthusiastically. His hands were hot on her back and damp where they touched her bare skin above the zipper of her dress. For her own part, Rory was alternating between trying to get more of the buttons of his shirt undone and wrapping her arms back around his neck to cling to him when he did something particularly tricky with his tongue in her mouth.

Eventually, realizing she was getting nowhere with the buttons and wanting to enjoy the look and feel of more of the body she'd been eyeing at the ceremony, Rory relaxed her thighs. Jess grabbed her back as she slid into him, top-heavy without the support of her legs.

His mouth left hers as he helped to steady her on her feet, one hand settling on her hip and the other reaching around to her opposite shoulder blade. Rory kept her eyes closed. Her lips were tingling. She opened her eyes and looked at his mouth. _Why did I stop kissing him?_ Her heart thumped and an echoing squeeze came from the muscles between her legs. She could feel that he had begun to work the zipper down at the back of her dress.

Jess knew she must have wanted to be let down for a reason, so he would just wait until she spoke first. He leaned towards her, bracing his weight on his palms on either side of her. But why not keep himself busy while he waited? He tilted his head down, finding where Rory's jaw met her neck, and applied sucking kisses, then licked from the spot he had reddened to the bottom of her ear. Firmly, like he was sealing an envelope.

Rory was so full of giddy, nervous energy, she giggled. "I can't think when you're doing that."

"You say that as if thinking is the priority here." He bit at her neck lightly. "It's not."

"So no thinking? Wow, some intellectual you are." She ran her hands across his covered chest until they met a button. She undid it.

"You know, I've been trying to get people to stop calling me that for years, but it just keeps sticking."

"Must be something to do with your thesaurus-like vocabulary and intense gaze." Her hands dropped to the next button and she worked that one out as well.

Jess laughed. "I have an intense gaze?" He tried to remain calm and not force her back against the wall as he felt her hands sliding down towards his abdomen.

"Yes. And I notice you say nothing to humble yourself at my description of your vocabulary." She slipped one hand inside his shirt, tracing the curve of his pectoral with her fingertips.

"Like Walt Whitman intense? Sweaty-toothed madman intense?" He smirked at her.

"You think I would have been lured back to your apartment by the gaze of a madman?" She widened her eyes in pretend horror and scratched her nails lightly down his abs towards the next button.

Jess shuddered. "I don't know, Rory. You're an intellectual too. Maybe you thought you had fallen into a Stevenson novel."

"In that case, maybe these sparse furnishings are really just a cover for your laboratory. Is there a secret room where you're hiding the potion?" The button was slipped through its fastening.

"You're certainly welcome to examine any of them."

She smirked up at him and his heart seemed to go into freefall. The look she gave him was a look full of ideas. "Ok, then." Rory kissed him, throwing her weight against him just enough to get his hands to lift off the wall and start to wrap around her. He felt the silkiness of her dress against his bare chest. Before he could get a hold of her though, Rory disengaged herself and brushed past him.

"I didn't mean now." Jess hung his head then turned to face her.

Rory was smiling at him, her arms bent at the elbows with her hands hidden behind her back.

Before he could speak again, Jess heard the quiet rumble of a zipper. _She wouldn't._ But when Rory turned away from him, Jess found his eyes were roaming the pale expanse of her bare back. His dick lunged against the constraint of his dress pants. She slipped her arms from the straps and pushed the dress down and off her body in one motion. Without looking back at him, Rory pointed in the direction of his bedroom—"This way?"—and walked away in only her white lace panties. Her brilliantly blue dress remained, pooled on the floor like a soft mound of paint squeezed onto a palette.

Jess stood in a daze for a moment, then began fumbling with the remaining buttons on his shirt as he raced after her, before giving up and yanking the damn thing off over his head. It whooshed to the floor, landing half-draped across the blue dress.

* * *

Culture references in this chapter:

 _The Mummy_ directed by Stephen Sommers

 _Dead Poets Society_ directed by Peter Weir

 _Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde_ by Robert Louis Stevenson


	18. Matrix-level Déjà-vu

XVIII

Rory felt adrenaline doing the running of the bulls in her veins as she stepped, mostly naked, into Jess's bedroom. Ideas were shuffling through her brain like cards in a deck. _Should I go for 'seductive' and lay across his bed? Maybe funny instead and jump out at him when he comes in? Should I hide behind the door? In the bathroom?_ Rory heard Jess come out of his momentary paralysis and his footsteps sounding against the ground like a rainstorm as he hurried to the bedroom. She raced around the side of the bed, towards the bathroom. As she turned her head to see if he had entered the room, a photograph on the bedside table caught her eye. She picked it up. It was of her, standing alone on a clear day like the one from her dream. She set it down and picked up the book it had been lying on top of. _Moby Dick_. Instinctively, Rory opened it.

Jess's hand caught the doorframe and, spotting Rory off to the side, propelled him into the room. He stopped short realizing she had become distracted.

"Why do I feel like I just stepped into an R-rated version of Beauty and the Beast?" He laughed, but looked Rory's body over hungrily. Long legs, white lace, narrowing waist, _Moby Dick_. Moby Dick _?_ , he thought. _Not what I was hoping to see there._

Rory looked up at him, smiling. "I'll have to tell you later about the weird coincidence I just experienced, because I know now is not the time." Her eyes dropped to his naked torso. She felt her pulse like a tolling bell: forward swing, the pound in her heart; backward swing, the grip of the muscles waiting to surround Jess's erection. She had closed the book and didn't realize she was holding it in a death grip against her chest as her breathing shallowed.

"Must have been some Matrix-level déjà-vu to mix you up enough that you thought you were reading _Moby Dick_. I know it's Melville, but, hey, the guy's been dead since 1891, so I think I should win the contest for your attention tonight."

"Well when you put it like that, how I can resist?" Rory set the book back on the table and Jess's eyes immediately went to her chest as if the Holy Grail had just been uncovered before him. He approached her slowly, not because he didn't want to sprint across the room to her, but because he worried that if he did, he'd trip himself in his eagerness.

Rory trembled from head to foot as Jess came to her. Being with him seemed like the one thing she'd never achieved. And now it would be better than it ever could have been before. She reached out for him and closed the distance between their bodies, kissing him and pulling him to her. Jess lifted his mouth off hers. He was smiling. "I see you found your underwear."

Rory laughed, leaning her forehead against his. "Yeah, they were in the box with the hairdryer."

Jess was about to question this, but Rory nudged her lips back against his and quickly passed her tongue into his mouth, moaning as her adrenaline kicked in again. Jess's dick pulled him forward like a magnet and he bumped his hips into hers. Rory's hands dropped from his shoulders and fluttered down eagerly to tug at the fastening of his pants. As one hand was still releasing the zipper, the other pushed under the elastic of his boxers like a rebellious teen under the rope at a concert. She trailed her fingers down alone the line of his hip, then reached across to stroke firmly upwards from the base of his dick.

Jess grabbed Rory's ass, pulling her more securely against him as his fingertips touched her warm skin through the open loops of the lace. "Fuck," he groaned out. "It's always the quiet ones, isn't it?"

Rory nodded. "It's true," she said as she used both hands to push Jess's pants and boxers from his hips. He dropped his head and panted against her neck. "You never know who might have been wanting you for years or even keeping a photo of you on their bedside table for who knows what purpose."

Jess couldn't get his tongue and lips in sync and stumbled over his words in a verbal log roll. "It wasn't like that—you're making it sound like—" he gave up and laughed. "It's totally innocent. Tom Robinson innocent. I swear."

"I'll believe you until I find the Rory shrine." She caught the edge of his underwear and yanked it down after his pants. Jess kicked his feet free, keeping his eyes on her.

"Oh, that? You'll never find that." He smirked at her, then put his hands gently on her waist as he kissed her. Rory was really getting into it again when she thought of something.

"So why are you reading it?"

"Mmm what?" Jess had his hands on her hips, under the edge of the lace, preparing to divest her of her last item of clothing.

" _Moby Dick_. I'm sure you've probably read it before. Really, that's the kind of novel you only need to read once, unless you wanted to check back and remind yourself of all the species of porpoise or 19th century uses of whale oil. And at that point, you're probably better off just buying a whale encyclo—"

"Is this a question you actually want me to answer, cause if you do, let me get a word in now. Not that I don't love to hear you talk—you're the most fascinating person I know—but in my fantasies of this night…" She looked at him suspiciously. "…which have nothing to do with the photo of you next to my bed!" Jess grew serious. "In my fantasies of this night, you and me, hot and heavy, together at last kinda deal, there's not a hell of a lot of debate over the encyclopedic nature of Melville's magnum opus."

"Not even a little?" Rory put on a hurt expression.

"Ok, a little if you really want it." Jess tightened his hold on her hips and leaned in to kiss her neck.

"I would actually picture something more like—mmmm—" He had bitten down and she looped her arms around his neck, pressing her breasts against his chest. "Poetry."

"Poetry?" Jess considered this as he ran his tongue roughly down her neck towards her collarbone. She gasped.

"You know, Donne…" Jess sat on the edge of his bed and drew her body towards him by her hips. He looked up at her. "I'm listening."

"…Cummings…" His hot breath puffed over her as he leaned towards her chest. "…Ginsberg." Jess's long hair tickled the side of her breast. Suddenly, he reached around and yanked her forward, fixing his mouth around her nipple as if he were trying to drain the last juice from an orange slice. Rory moaned and gripped his hair. _I knew I liked it a little long for a reason._

Jess licked from one breast to the other, then moved his hands—agile and strong from years of writing out his early drafts by hand—to her chest as he replied. "And there would probably be candles right, Rory?"

She nodded, struggling to keep her eyes open and on his. Her eyebrows had drawn together at the feel of his hands manipulating her breasts.

"You know what though?" He looked up into her face and almost died seeing the expression of pleasure there.

She shook her head. He couldn't tell if this was in response to his question or a reaction to the way he had started plucking gently at her nipples as if he were playing a guitar with thick strings. "I think you're enjoying reality more than the scenario in your head. You're making some Freudian slips with those names. Ginsberg? Author of _Howl_?" Jess dropped his hands and sucked hard at her nipple. Rory made the noise he was looking for. "And I don't need to say anything about Cummings." Jess edged his fingers over the hips of her panties again and slid them smoothly down her legs. In his lap, his dick vibrated like a conductor's baton before the opening bar.

He stood up. Rory's eyes opened and she looked serenely calm. Jess held the sides of her flushed face and brought his mouth to hers, pulling rapidly at her lips and forcing the kiss deeper and deeper. With his arms, he turned her body with his, so that her legs were the ones bumping against the mattress. As she shuffled around, Rory felt her thighs rub together slickly from her arousal. Jess pushed his body against hers. She gave in and dropped back onto his bed.

Jess followed Rory down and she dragged herself backwards with her elbows to stay ahead of him. He paused to bite down on her nipple and she stared at him. His body was muscular but sleek. His long hair fell across her chest as his mouth moved there. When he looked up at her and smirked, easing himself forward to hover over her, Rory felt like she was being cornered by a predator. He was sexier in bed than she ever could have imagined.

His mouth crashed down on hers. A second later, she felt pressure between her legs as Jess positioned his erection. She let out a small yelp. He rubbed himself briskly against her clit, catching her off guard and electrifying her nerves while he lathered himself in her arousal. She let out a much louder, longer sound.

When Rory's eyes clamped shut and her head fell back showing her long pale neck, Jess jerked his hips forward, pushing deep into her. Rory shuddered, then went at him passionately. He felt like he had brought Frankenstein's monster to life.

* * *

Culture references in this chapter:

 _The Matrix_ directed by The Wachowski Brothers

 _To Catch a Mockingbird_ by Harper Lee

 _Howl_ by Allen Ginsberg

 _Frankenstein_ by Mary Shelley


	19. Falling into Charn

XIX

Rory gave Jess a minute to assert his dominance, rocking his muscular body against hers, before she decided the author should learn to be more collaborative in his work. On his next driving thrust, Rory pushed her hips forward to meet his. When he struck her g-spot, she felt like her body had been clapped between two cymbals. He was clearly thrilled. She looked into his face and saw him smiling as brilliantly as he ever had.

Rory pointed one foot, using it as a guide to twist her leg around the back of his knee and calf. The muscle there was as firm as the rest of them and gave her something to anchor herself with. As Jess continued to persuade her body towards orgasm, Rory reached up and ran her hands across his chest. When she scratched at his nipples, Jess dropped his head, making love to her neck with his mouth.

He reached a hand down to grip her hip, tilting it up and enabling him to drive into her further. Rory stared heatedly at his body working above hers. Jess was single-minded. Serious. He was balancing on one forearm and she watched his bicep flex each time he pushed forward. She ran her hands up and around to his back. Pulling his chest down to hers, she turned her face into his neck, sucking at his pulse.

Jess's rhythm stuttered, then derailed, his pelvis coming closer than before and rubbing her clit roughly up when he stroked into her. Rory reflexively arched her back, dragging her clit back down against his wiry hair. A deep "uuunh" tore from Jess as her muscles clenched his dick.

As he plunged into her more aggressively and irregularly, Jess heard Rory start to pant his name into his ear. He turned his face to hers, their noses bumping and startling her eyes open. The ends of his hair brushed back and forth on her face as he thrust. Rory's eyes were as large and enticing as pools of cool water. Jess thought he now knew what Digory Kirke had felt falling into Charn.

"Jess," she whispered to him. He pressed his lips to hers, opening her mouth wetly with his tongue as he delivered short, sharp thrusts with his dick. Jess felt the muscles of Rory's leg tighten. She rammed her hips against his like she was trying to shut an overfull suitcase. Her arms wrapped around him and he distantly felt her nails scraping his back. Jess broke the kiss and Rory cried out, squeezing the delicate muscles around her eyes… and the ones around his dick. Jess felt his restraint snap and he groaned, propelling himself rapidly back and forth through her clenched channel before letting out a long groan as his body joined hers in release.

* * *

Culture references in this chapter:

 _The Chronicles of Narnia: The Magician's Nephew_ by C.S. Lewis


	20. A Missed Call from Dorian Gray

XX

Rory kissed softly down Jess's throat. He had rolled her over with him and she was propped up on his chest. "You're wild," she murmured.

Jess turned his head to look at her. He smiled. "What?"

"I said you're wild!" she shouted.

Jess laughed. "And look at you." He raised his arm weakly from the mattress and gestured to her tousled hair. Rory reached one hand up to smooth it and he knocked out the other she was balanced on, causing her to fall back against him. "Spaghetti arms."

"Well all us prodigal sons can't return years later with a body that looks like that." Rory stroked her hand across his chest. "Check your messages. You probably missed a call from Dorian Gray asking how you perfected his technique."

"Perfected it?"

"Yeah. Instead of just looking the same years later, you look even better."

"And I haven't even murdered anyone."

Rory grinned. "That's good. You should definitely put that in the infomercial when you start mass producing the wonder product that led to your startling transformation."

"I've already got a good name for it too: 'Boredom'." Jess put a hand under his head to prop it up.

Rory rolled her eyes. "Because if all this—" she ran her hand from his chest down his defined abdominals "—screams anything, it's 'laziness'."

"Nah, I didn't say lazy, I said bored." Jess was trying to focus on her words rather than the location of her hand.

"Oh, I'm sure the up-and-coming author had nothing better to do."

Jess smoothed the hand not supporting his head up Rory's back. "Not without you there."

"Dirty!"

"Come on, Rory. I was trying to be romantic."

"Sorry, try me again." Rory shook her hair back and looked at him intently as if resetting the scene.

Jess moved his hand to her face. "Not without you there."

Rory put her wrist to her forehead, fluttered her eyelids, and flopped back away from him in a mock swoon.

Jess rolled over to face her and levered himself up on his elbow. "Was that supposed to be you taking this more seriously?"

She broke her swooning pose. "I'm sorry. I just… you really missed me, huh?"

"Yeah." Jess tucked his hair back behind his ear. "It's funny, but I guess I still feel the way I did the night I showed up at your dorm at Yale."

Rory looked away from him. "I was terrible to you that night."

"Rory, I don't want you to apologize. If you had come with me then, neither of us would be where we are now. I wouldn't have wanted to be the one to make you drop out of Yale."

Rory exhaled loudly and looked pained. "No, that was a mistake I needed to make all on my own."

Jess looked down to clear his head, then looked back up when he realized he was staring directly at Rory's chest. "Man, this is coming out wrong. I promise I'm not trying to make you suffer through those memories. My point is that it's still true." She looked up at him. "That I knew the day I met you that we were meant to be together." His eyes locked on hers, which were becoming a little teary.

"How?" she asked a bit thickly. A tear rolled out the corner of her eye, down her temple, and into her hair.

He reached out and wiped the track away with his thumb. "You got me to stay." He shrugged. "With a few words you broke my habit of running before trying."

Rory raised her eyebrows.

"Not for everything, I know. But you had an effect on me right away. Within minutes of meeting you." Seeing how emotional she still looked, Jess made to shift the mood. "It was that… and your bookshelf."

Rory's eyes flickered down to look at her chest. "DIRTY!" She grinned.

"What? As if I didn't catch you out there—" he pointed in the direction of the living room "—checking out _my_ bookshelf. And the next thing I know, you're all over me. I mean, your little trick with the dress there…" He rolled into her, buried his face in the duvet, and groaned. "Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me."

Rory felt his erection strengthening against her hip. "And it was so effective we didn't even make it into the bed. Poor bed." Rory thumped the duvet with her hand, then rolled fully towards Jess. "I think we may need to huddle together for warmth."

Jess lifted his head. "Ok, come on. We can get under the blankets."

"Me want fire!" Rory whacked the bed with her fist.

"You know, I'm beginning to feel like I brought a Neanderthal home. First I satisfy your need for sustenance—" "Coffee good!" Rory broke in. "—then I put up no resistance while you have your way with me—" Rory dropped her chin and stared at him incredulously. "—and now you want me to prove to you that I'm intelligent too. That I'm up to date with the hottest technology. Please don't tell me you're waiting to call in a leopard you want me to fight."

Rory laughed. "Relax, Tarzan."

"I would actually build a fire, but I haven't checked the fireplace out yet. Probably something I should get Luke's opinion on, but then he'd always be holding that over me. Plus, letting him in leads to that whole scenario I was talking about before with the ladder."

"And the belt sander."

"And the screwdrivers."

"So many screwdrivers!" Rory smiled at him. "By fire, I really just meant candles."

"Those I have." Jess struggled into a sitting position, then looked down at Rory. "You probably want some poetry to go with those though, huh?"

"Yes please."

"Ok, start digging." Jess pointed to a small mountain of cubes in the corner of his bedroom. All labelled 'Books'.

It was Rory's turn to press her face into the covers and groan. More cardboard boxes.

* * *

Culture references in this chapter:

 _Dirty Dancing_ directed by Emile Ardolino

 _The Picture of Dorian Gray_ by Oscar Wilde

 _The Graduate_ directed by Mike Nichols

 _Tarzan of the Apes_ by Edgar Rice Burroughs


	21. The Titans are Upon Us!

XXI

"Are you just gonna sit there fingering spines or are you actually gonna pick somethin'?"

Rory jerked her hand back from _The Return of the Native_ at his remark and had to replay it in her head a couple of times before it stopped sounding like Jess was accusing her of something inappropriate. "I'm sorry, I just…" Rory looked around her at the box fortress she had accidentally created while moving things. "…you have a lot of books."

"I know. That's why I bought all those bookshelves to put 'em on."

Rory rolled her eyes and looked over at him. Jess was focused on lighting a candle, angling the lighter down towards the wick. The ones he had already lit glowed gently behind him, illuminating his profile for Rory's appreciation. Before heading to the boxes, she had dragged the duvet from the bed. He, obviously more warm-blooded than his new lover— _Lover? Girlfriend?_ she wondered—had sprung from bed in the nude and remained that way. Rory pulled the duvet around her more tightly as she shivered, though not from the cold. _What am I doing looking through boxes of books? I've seen books. I own books._ That _is what I should be putting my hands all over_.

Rory stood up abruptly and when Jess's head turned at the sudden movement, she flung down the duvet. He nearly dropped the lighter. _Real smart. Exactly what this apartment is missing: a fire that destroys all your worldly belongings._

"You gotta stop doing that to me, Rory." Jess put a hand on his chest. "I don't think arson was one of the things the landlord was looking for in an ideal tenant." He felt blood start to pound in his dick like someone drumming out a slow beat on a bass drum.

Rory was wishing she had thought further ahead. She couldn't easily kick or push the boxes out of the way, and clambering over them would definitely counteract the 'take me now' vibe she was going for with the blanket drop. She tried channelling her inner Pfeiffer Catwoman and sat down on one of the larger boxes, draping her legs out beside her and reclining slightly.

"I don't feel that much like reading anymore."

Jess set the now-extinguished lighter down carefully. "No? You've moved on to using the boxes as chairs? You know, I do actually have furniture. Eventually this place is gonna look less like a storage unit." Jess's throat felt try. _Damn candles must be using up all the oxygen in the room._

Rory swung her legs down in front of her and stood. She had escaped the box fortress pretty slickly. "They seemed like they were sturdy enough to take me."

Jess smirked and felt his dick stiffen. When Rory's eyes dropped to his hips, he smirked even more. "And what about me?"

"Oh, well I didn't think you were that keen on the poetry thing. I can find something if you want…" Rory turned and bent over a box in which she had noticed a Blake collection.

Jess walked over to her, feeling the hairs on his legs raise as he approached. He put his mouth to Rory's ear when she straightened up. "I meant do you think _I'm_ sturdy enough to take you." Jess slapped her sharply on the ass. Rory jumped forward, nearly toppling over the boxes. Jess's arm immediately went around her waist, pulling her back against him. _Hard rock_ , she thought again.

Rory turned her head enough to look at him from the corner of her eye. "First a fire and now you almost cause an earthquake?" Jess looked somewhere between lustful and puzzled. "That's what it would have sounded like to your neighbours if I had knocked over all these boxes," Rory rambled. "Or, or, like a thunderstorm at least." Rory's arms jerked out in exasperation. That's when she knew she was getting nervous. When she had dropped the duvet, she hadn't been prepared for the consequences that would manifest themselves in Jess _seriously_ putting the moves on her. "I mean, call in the gods! The Titans are upon us!" Rory let out a weak, high-pitched laugh.

"You better move away from the boxes then." Jess ran his fingers down Rory's forearm to her hand and held it. "For your own safety." He gave Rory's hand a tug and pulled her after him as he walked towards the bed. "Not a good idea to be around large, heavy, precariously stacked objects in the event of an earthquake."

Rory's heart felt like a rabbit kicking at her chest from the touch of his hand on hers alone. She so wanted to kiss him again. "I'm pretty sure being in the center of a room isn't a good idea during an earthquake either." She gestured at the bed, which they had now stopped in front of.

Jess raised an eyebrow. "It is if you're the thing causing the earthquake."

Rory caught his drift and took a deep breath before throwing herself against him, pressing her lips to his. Jess lost no time in getting his tongue into her mouth and using it to suck erotically at hers. She moaned against him, which got him kissing her more deeply. While he took the lead there, Rory smoothed her hand down his abs to the erection jutting against her stomach. It was hot as she rubbed her fingers, then her palm, down from the tip. Jess thrust instinctually against her and reached down to squeeze her ass.

"I get…" he said in between kissing her. "…that you want to _explore_ …" Jess groaned when Rory's fingers wrapped most of the way around his dick and gently tightened. "…my character for your book…" Jess's hand moved to stroke at Rory's hip. "…but how about letting the muse have a turn?"

Rory leaned her face away from him and looked indignant. "I write three chapters and suddenly you're my—" Rory gasped. Jess had moved his hand to position it against her and pressed two fingers up into the wetness she was releasing. He looked her square in the eye as he pushed inside, rubbing the pads of his fingers against her then pressing forward as if he were doing a two-fingered Captain Hook impression. Rory's jaw was stretched open in silent appreciation of his technique.

As he pulled his fingers out, he stroked them up across her clit. He jerked his head towards the bed. "Take a seat, Gilmore."

Rory thought this was a wise idea. Just sitting down had her ankles wobbling and she felt safer with the mattress securely under her bum. Jess knelt down before her, ran his hands up the outside of her thighs to her hips, then gripped her there and yanked her forward. He stared at her. Starting at her legs, to where they met her hips, then where her body narrowed in a swooping curve to her waist like a violin. Rory watched Jess watching her and thought that the look on his face might have been the same one she had the first time she read something she was really moved by. If she hadn't been so distracted at that moment, she would have been able to recall what that was.

Jess put his hand halfway up Rory's lap and slide it to where her thighs touched, pushing his hand down to create a gap. Her legs were hot and he felt like he was karate chopping warm butter in slow motion. Rory tensed slightly from nerves, then allowed Jess to widen the distance between her thighs. He slid his hand up and used his thumb to massage the place where her thigh met her pelvis and where her pulse pounded. He looked up at her earnestly and Rory's heart hurled itself at her ribcage. Something in her expression amused Jess because she caught sight of a smirk just before he leaned in to her and ran his tongue along her opening steadily, like he was catching drips on a soft serve ice cream.

"Fuck!"

Jess looked up at Rory, whose eyes were now closed, amused by her outburst. "My poor virgin ears."

"Somehow I'm not buying the innocent act."

Jess shrugged and licked her firmly again. He felt a tremble go down her leg and grinned. He tilted his head and slipped his tongue inside her to smooth over the delicate ripples of her muscles. She gripped the back of his head. Hard. Jess flattened his tongue out inside her channel as best as he could and pressed it against her front wall. Rory let out a keening whine, but it seemed far away to Jess. Partly because he was focused, and partly because every time he licked, she reflexively moved to trap his head with her thighs, covering his ears. On his next stroke, he drew a line from deep inside her out and up to her clit. This Jess flicked at rapidly with the tip of his tongue as though he were rolling his Rs. Rory's arousal was leaking out on his chin and she rubbed herself against his mouth, demanding more.

Jess wrapped his arms around her and yanked her down off the mattress onto his lap. In her desire for further pleasure, Rory got a little pushy, shoving Jess back on his ass with a hand against his chest. _Thank god I have a rug in here._ He looked up at her, a little dazed, to see Rory positioning herself on his lap with great concentration.

She was fumbling a little in her eagerness so Jess moved his hands to her hips, guiding her. Briefly, Rory looked annoyed. "Easy, tiger. Just trying to help. You're shaking like you're going to the electric chair." She took him up into her fully and quickly and Jess squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his jaw at the feeling. He opened his eyes and lifted an eyebrow. "If that was your punishment for what I said, I gotta say, I'm not likely to reform my behaviour."

Rory's eyes were glittering to spectacular effect in the light of the candles. She felt as though she were both inside the flame and the flame itself. And when she rocked in an exaggerated motion against him, she did indeed feel as if she were being electrified. She watched lustfully as Jess's abs became extremely defined as he half-crunched to return her thrust.

When Rory had worked herself up to the point of feeling a funky tingling numbness in her thighs as a result of both her position on Jess's lap and her proximity to climax, she allowed Jess to take charge again. He pulled her up by her hips, though she felt as boneless as a ragdoll, and sat her back on the bed. In a daze, Rory appreciated Jess's muscular, erect body as he stood before her, but he didn't give her long to do so.

Jess wrapped a hand around to cover her shoulder blade and leaned down to kiss her, just as passionately as before. He worked at her mouth persuasively with his, adding enough pressure to initiate her recline back onto his mattress. When Rory was flat on her back, Jess's lips abandoned hers, moving to her neck, then her nipples, as his hands came up to gently manipulate her breasts.

Rory began to whine in frustration and reached out with one leg to rub her thigh against the outside of Jess's, then hook it around his leg and draw him in. Jess's hands smoothed down her sides to grab her hips and he thrust into her. He looked down at her and smirked, which Rory somehow interpreted as the signal to get a good grip of the bedsheets. So she did.

Jess's body was unimaginably beautiful to her and between his thrusts, Rory pushed herself up on her elbows to watch him drive into her. Occasionally, her head dropped back and her hair swished back and forth against the sheets. Whenever Rory looked up at him, his eyes were totally focused, scanning over her body and assessing her expression as if he were preparing to make a 3D model of her. In contrast, Jess's body was moving loosely and wildly as his thrusts continuously changed their rhythm. It was as if he were dancing.

Then Rory remembered she had seen him dancing, only earlier this evening. And _this_ body had been under the suit all that time. She imagined dancing with him when he was moving as he was now. Rory let out a long "mmmm" noise at the thought, which snapped Jess's attention up to her face from tracking the motion of her breasts.

Suddenly, Rory could tell she was right at the edge and felt her muscles begin to squeeze in around Jess's erection. His face expressed such honest pleasure, his eyebrows pulling together, mouth opening in a rough groan. As Jess leaned down towards her, reaching his climax, Rory arched up and reached out to grab his hand as she reached her own.

* * *

Culture references in this chapter:

 _The Return of the Native_ by Thomas Hardy

 _Batman Returns_ directed by Tim Burton

 _Peter Pan_ by J.M. Barrie


	22. A Little Too Laverne & Shirley

XXII

Rory let her head hang off the edge of the bed, watching the candles glow upside down. "I feel like I'm in _The Phantom of the Opera_."

"If that's true, you're the phantom." Jess's arm was pinned under Rory's back and he tugged her towards him, bringing her head back onto the mattress.

She turned her face to his. "How am I the phantom?"

"Because I'm your muse."

"But Christine wasn't the Phantom's muse, he was hers."

"No, he was her teacher."

"And her muse. It was a student-surpasses-the-master kinda deal."

"Oh, so that's what you really think, is it?" Jess grinned at her. "Three chapters and you've surpassed my writing career. I bet Dave Eggers kicks me out of his fan club."

"If the fan club is anything like the Circle, I'd say it's better to get out while you can."

"Good point." Jess pulled her closer.

Rory smiled at him, her face now inches from his. "Strange night, huh?"

Jess put a hand to her face, brushing her hair back. "Strange night. I gotta say though, the real thing is almost as good as using that photo of you on my bedside table." Jess burst out laughing.

Rory whacked him on the shoulder then rolled her eyes and laid her head down, kissing where she had hit. "Now that it's happened, I feel like I was waiting for this," Rory whispered.

Jess looked at her out of the corner of his eye. His heart banged back and forth like a bumper car. He let out an exhale that was almost a laugh. "Join the club. You sure know how to make a guy wait."

They let a few minutes go by in silence, wrapped up in the warm glow of the candles Jess had lit.

"So you're definitely staying." A statement, not a question.

"I'm staying."

They looked at each other.

"Do you—" "Now that—" they started together.

Rory nudged Jess's shoulder gently with her forehead. "You go."

"Now that Luke and Lorelei are married… I mean, I know they've been living together at your house for years…"

"In sin!"

"That's what I said!"

Rory widened her eyes at him and nodded. "Continue."

"Well, I know logistically things haven't really changed at your place, but maybe the feel will be different now that there's a _married_ couple living there and maybe you might want some space from that…?" He looked like he was hoping she knew where he was going with this.

"I'm glad I made you talk first."

Not the response Jess was expecting. "Why's that?"

"Because I was going to ask if you wanted a…. I was going to say 'roommate' but that sounds a little too _Laverne & Shirley_."

Before she could back off, Jess jumped in. "…if I wanted a…? Gorgeous, coffee-addicted, intellectually stimulating, ambitious autobiographer, and a _Gilmore_ on top of all that, who I've been in love with for over a decade to live with me? Gee, I don't know."

Rory flushed and laughed. "Do I need to submit an application?"

Jess smirked at her. "Actually, there is an interview…" He sat up and reached towards his bedside table, pulling open the drawer. He drew his hand back and lay down next to her again. "…but it's only one question." Jess took a deep breath and held up a ring between them. The candlelight made it glitter. "Rory, will you marry me?"

She gasped.

* * *

Culture references in this chapter:

 _The Phantom of the Opera_ by Gaston Leroux

 _The Circle_ by Dave Eggers

 _Laverne & Shirley_ created by Lowell Ganz et. al.

Thank you for reading! I wrote _You Need Me To Be With You_ one chapter after the other, with zero plan or sense of what the ending would be. I'm very happy with how it turned out. I'm working on a new idea for a Rory  & Jess fic which will be typed up and posted as soon as I can see the beginning of it a little more clearly. Thanks very much to those of you who have taken the time to comment! Your enthusiasm for the way I've presented this couple to you will soon be rewarded with a new story!

 **Update, April 7th:  
**

My new Rory & Jess fic, _Dreams I've Yet To Find_ , has now been posted in its entirety. Enjoy!


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